Utah tourist, 47, drowns in the Caribbean attempting daredevil swim
By Ashley Collman From Daily Mail UK
Utah tourist, 47, drowns in the Caribbean attempting daredevil swim to small island 2,000 feet off St Thomas in rough waters
James Handley was attempting to swim to a small island 2,000 feet off St Thomas when he drowned
He and a friend planned to swim to and from Thatch Cay, but became separated en route in a current
The 47-year-old’s friend spent the night on the island and reported his disappearance the next morning
Handley’s body was found near his intended destination
A Utah man’s Caribbean vacation ended in death when he drowned attempting an ambitious swim this weekend in rough waters.
James Handley, 47, of South Ogden, Utah was staying with his fiancee at Dorothea Beach on St Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands when he went for a swim off Coki Point on Saturday.
Handley and a male friend planned to swim to Thatch Cay, a small island 2,000 feet off the coast of St Thomas, Coast Guard officials said.
Ambitious: James Handley and a friend planned to swim to Thatch Cay and back from Coki Point on Saturday but Handley never made it to the island and drowned en route
The two set off around 4pm with the intention of swimming there and back, but they became separated in a current.
‘They were caught in the current and separated and the survivor was able to make it to Thatch Cay where he reported spending the night and then got to St. Thomas the next day and made the report,’ Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad told Virgin Islands Daily News.
The Coast Guard was notified of Handley’s disappearance around 10am Sunday and located his body about an hour later near Thatch Cay.
‘It’s a very unfortunate incident to take place, and our hearts go out to the family and loved ones,’ Castrodad said.
There was a high-surf advisory issued on Saturday, due to the remnants of a winter storm in the northeastern United States.
Conditions were the worst on Friday, but continued into the day on Saturday with a buoy six miles north of Puerto Rico recording 13-foot waves.
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