COASTAL OBSERVER

The widow of a man who drowned off the north end of Pawleys Island last month met at Town Hall with members of the family her husband was trying to rescue from a rip current. 

“It was a good moment for us to reflect and pivot on things that we can do to increase the safety of our visitors and beachgoers,” Town Administrator Dan Newquist said. He sat in along with Police Chief Mike Fanning who facilitated the meeting.

The conversation helped the town design signs that went up on the north end two weeks after the death of Chase Childers warning of rip currents. He was visiting the beach with his family. His death followed the drowning in June of John Young, who was also visiting the island when he was caught in a rip current near the Shell Road beach access.

Two other drownings took place in the area in October. Another occurred there in June 2023.

The town is at work on other safety measures, including torpedo-shaped rescue buoys that can be placed on posts near the beach and a designated emergency access.

“We just want to keep talking about it. We’re accepting any ideas and we got some ideas, some feasible, some not,” Mayor Brian Henry said.

Since the drownings, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, N.C., visited the island and confirmed that there is an actual rip current adjacent to Midway Inlet.

The town and Midway Fire Rescue are looking at Pearce Street as the location for an emergency access. Vehicles now use First Street, but it has public parking. Pearce Street does not.

That would require upgrading the access to support the weight of a vehicle, Newquist said.

The town also plans to develop a video about rip currents that visitors will be able to access with a QR code on signs at accesses. The town discussed that earlier this year, but the cost was a concern.

Henry said the Chamber of Commerce offered to help fund the video, which would be part of a new beach safety page on the town website.