NAVARRE, Fla. (WSVN) — An Air Force veteran drowned while trying to help save two kids struggling in rough surf at a north Florida beach.
Mihcael Robidoux, a former pilot, spotted the children flailing in the water at Navarre Beach in the Panhandle on Saturday, and rushed in after them. But a strong current took him under and he later died.
“He died as he lived — a hero,” Robidoux’s cousin Annette told Fox News.
After a strong current pulled him under, two surfers rescued the children, while the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s office searched for Robidoux. Deputies pulled him to shore and performed CPR on the critically-injured man before airlifting him to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
Navarre Fire Chief Danny Fureigh said Robidoux got “caught in an undertow” as he tried to reach the children in the water, WEAR reports.
Family said Robidoux was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and became a pilot for Delta Air Lines after retiring from the Air Force.
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