NORTH REDINGTON BEACH — An Indiana man died Sunday afternoon in an apparent drowning after going for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said.
Kenton Parker, 56, and his friend Gary Ford, 21, swam from the beach out to a buoy when they started having trouble staying above water, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Parker grabbed onto the buoy while Ford swam back to shore to get help.
Seminole Fire Department rescue personnel responded and found Parker in the water in the area around 17100 Gulf Boulevard. He was unresponsive, the Sheriff's Office said. Parker was taken to Largo Medical Center's Indian Rocks Beach campus, where he was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m.
Parker is from Kokomo, Ind., and Ford is from Indianapolis, according to the Sheriff's Office. Parker and his family have vacationed in the area for about 15 years.
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