ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A 32-year-old man swept into the channel while swimming in the Fort Pierce Inlet Tuesday afternoon was pronounced dead less than two hours later, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Lataurus Conley was boating near the Fort Pierce Inlet about 1 p.m. Tuesday and was swimming with friends in the inlet, DEP public information officer Amy Graham said in an e-mail. The outgoing tide swept Conley into the channel, and a fisherman helped in rescuing Conley.

Conley was brought to Fort Pierce Inlet State Park in the 900 block of Shorewinds Drive. Emergency officials performed CPR on Conley, who was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in grave condition.

Conley was pronounced dead at 2:45 p.m. and his family members were notified at the hospital.

The DEP’s Florida Park Police is the lead investigating agency in the case.

No further information about Conley or the incident was immediately available.
Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

Tags: boating, drowning, fort pierce inlet, hospital, rescue, tide

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