The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management confirmed the death of a 38-year-old man who tried to rescue two swimmers who were in distress at Scarborough North State Beach shortly before 7 PM on Tuesday, July 18.
According to witnesses, a boy, 17, went into the water and quickly became distressed. A 21-year-old woman who came to the beach with the teenager saw him from the shoreline and went in to help him, but also struggled. The decedent, who did not know either swimmer, then went out to try to rescue them. Swimmers from the DEM Division of Law Enforcement and Narragansett Police Department were able to rescue the boy and woman and help bring the man aboard a Narragansett Fire Department boat, which took him to Point Judith. All victims were taken to South County Hospital, where the man was pronounced dead, and the boy and woman were released.
The man was identified as Idmael Elmonus, 38, from Cranston, RI.
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