On March 26, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, Carson Furness, 6, and his 10-year-old brother were caught in a fast moving current while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Anchored near the southern tip of Anclote Island, auto mechanic Adem Qorri, 39, of New Port Richey, Florida, was with the boys’ father when he saw them drift into water 10 feet deep. Qorri jumped off the boat, ran approximately 90 feet across shallow water and sand created by low tide, and then swam 225 feet to Carson. The boys’ father followed Qorri until he reached Carson’s brother at a point about 150 feet from shore. After swimming Carson’s brother to safer water and calming him, the father saw Qorri facedown in the water with Carson hanging onto his back. A tour boat pulled up next to them and the captain lifted Carson onto the boat. The tour boat captain was unable to pull Qorri aboard and jumped into the water to support him and keep his head above the surface of the water. A speed boat arrived, and both boat captains pulled Qorri aboard. They started chest compressions as they began the 3-mile journey to the closest boat ramp. Carson and his brother were not injured. Qorri was immediately put into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had drowned.
