REPORT: Former Swampscott Coach Drowns Off King's Beach

UPDATE 8:53 a.m., Oct. 1

The Lynn Daily Item is identifying the man who died after being pulled from the water Wednesday afternoon as 54-year-old William Ryan.

Ryan, according to the Daily Item, coached freshman football at Swampscott High School last year.

Read the Daily Item’s full article.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the man’s identity, but have said only that the victim was a 54-year-old man from Swampscott.

UPDATE 10:15 p.m.:

A 54-year-old man from Swampscott died Wednesday afternoon in what the Essex Country District Attorney’s office is calling an accidental drowning.

The man, whose name had not been released as of Wednesday night, had apparently gone into the water Wednesday afternoon to secure a boat that had come loose from its mooring. He was pulled unconscious from the water after a witness on the beach called 911 to report losing sight of the man.

The victim was pronounced dead at about 5 p.m. at Salem Hospital. The Essex County DA’s office said the incident remains under investigation.

Original article:

A man died Wednesday afternoon shortly after he was pulled unconscious from the water just beyond Swampscott Harbor.

According to Swampscott Fire Capt. Kevin Thompson, the man waded out into the waters off King’s Beach in an apparent effort to retrieve a boat that had broken free from its mooring.

Thompson said the boat was about 50-60 feet from shore and the man was wearing a life preserver.

At 3:34 p.m., a person who had been watching from the beach called 911 to report that he had lost sight of the man in the water.

Swampscott Fire launched its boat from King’s Beach while a launch boat from the Swampscott Yacht Club also searched the waters. At about 4 p.m., the launch boat operators located the man about three-quarters of a mile outside Swampscott Harbor, Thimpson said.

When they pulled the man from the water, he was in cardiac arrest and his rescuers began administering CPR. The victim was transported to Salem Hospital where he has declared dead.

A storm created rough seas early Wednesday, but Thompson said the waters were “pretty calm” when the department launched its boat Wednesday afternoon.

“Guys said once once you got out of the harbor it was a bit rough,” Thompson added.

Authorities have not released the name of the victim nor where he was from.