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Ryan Mallett tragically passed away in an apparent drowning earlier this week. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden confirmed that the event was a “tragic accident” on Thursday.
The 35-year-old was among a group of swimmers in the ocean “struggling to make their way back to shore.” After going underwater during the struggle, he was unresponsive when he was eventually pulled out, per CBS News. The report said that lifesaving measures were unsuccessful. He was later pronounced dead at the Destin Emergency Room.
Aden said there were “misconceptions” regarding potentially dangerous conditions on the Destin, Fla., waters, and that were no riptides present in the water.
“It just seems to be just a tragic accident and not something to do with the conditions of the surf or tides or currents,” Aden said. “It's always difficult when we lose a tourist or resident here, but we have no indication here of any dangerous conditions out there.”
Authorities released partial body camera video footage on Wednesday, addressing public speculation that the water conditions could have caused the fatal incident.
“In response to dozens of media inquiries from across the U.S., we wanted to report that Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigators are continuing to gather information in the drowning of an Arkansas tourist Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico,” the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.
“Investigators say Mallett began struggling while attempting to swim to a second sandbar about 150 feet offshore off the beach near Gulf Shores Drive in Destin around 2:15 p.m. Despite widespread media misinformation, yellow beach safety flags were flying at the time, and there were no indications of any ‘riptides.'”
A former Arkansas quarterback who played for the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and New England Patriots over a five-year NFL career, Ryan Mallett most recently coached football at White Hall High School in his hometown.
