VERO BEACH — A man who went missing while swimming in the ocean at a local beach with his girlfriend has been identified.
Officials were still searching for Johnnie Thomas, 32, of Vero Beach, about 8 p.m. Wednesday. Officials are calling the incident a possible drowning.
Even though Thomas hasn’t been found yet, search efforts will continue.
Police responded to a call about a man having trouble swimming in the Atlantic Ocean about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Thomas and his girlfriend were at a beach east of the Prestige Hotel at 1526 Ocean Drive and south of South Beach.
The first officer arrived at the scene about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday and spoke to several witnesses, who told him Thomas was about 100 yards offshore when he appeared to be in distress, police said. Witnesses saw Thomas go under the water line; he didn’t resurface.
Indian River County Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and a Sheriff’s helicopter responded to the scene to assist with the search.
