Justice · Fatal rescue attemptStone Romberg drowning: Father of two swept offshore while trying to free seagullAired October 29, 2026 at 7:43 PM UTCWritten October 29, 2026 at 7:50 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Stone Romberg drowned after swimming out to free a seagull caught in his fishing0:10line.0:11He was thirty, one, with a wife and two daughters, ages one and three.0:15His family depended on his earnings, and they've now lost that support along with0:19their husband and father.0:20What happened between his swim out to the bird and his attempt to get back?0:24Romberg was fishing at Carillon Beach on Sunday, October twenty five.0:27The beach is near Phillips Inlet, in the Panama City Beach area of the Florida0:31Panhandle.0:32The location is also known as part of the Laguna Beach Area.0:35He noticed a seagull tangled in his fishing line and entered the water to release0:38it.0:39During that attempt, the hooken bird became caught on his hand.0:42Romberg tried to swim back to shore, but an ocean current carried him farther out.0:46He drowned after entering the water to help the bird.0:48The type of current that swept him offshore hasn't been identified.0:51The complete rescue timeline still isn't clear.0:54Nobody has said whether the seagull was ultimately freed.0:57Romberg had made his home in the Florida panhandle after growing up in the Atlanta1:01area.1:01He managed chair services at a local condominium complex where owners and guests1:05knew him through his work.1:07His full name was William Stone Romberg.1:09He followed SEC football and the Atlanta Braves.1:11At home, he was Taylor's husband and the father of Hadley, three, and Laney, one.1:16His workplace remembered his kindness, hard work, and willingness to lend a hand.1:20Those were the qualities people knew from his everyday work along the beach before1:24the fishing trip that ended in his death.1:26The current carried him away as he tried to return.1:28Identifying that movement as a rip current would require more information about what1:32happened in the water.1:33If you are caught in a rip current, stay calm, float rather than exhaust yourself1:36fighting it, and signal for help.1:38Move sideways across the current until you are free, rather than trying to swim1:41directly toward shore.1:42Romberg died on October20,5 , four days before the Thursday fundraising update.1:47For Taylor and their daughters, the loss also means losing income they relied on.1:52A fundraiser for the family had collected one hundred thirty-eight seven hundred and1:55fourteen dollars by Thursday afternoon, October twenty, nine.1:59That was the balance at that point.2:00The money was being raised for a wife and two young daughters who depended on2:03Romberg's financial support.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSS
