Edward P. Coppedge died after attempting to save Heather R. Parrott and Ryane N. Buckalew from drowning, Inlet Beach, Florida, July 26, 1996. Ms. Parrott, 25, and Ryane, 15, were on an air mattress in the Gulf of Mexico that was carried far from shore by a very strong current. They were unable to return. Alerted to their situation, a member of their party, Coppedge, 50, sales representative, responded to the beach from a nearby condominium. He entered the water and was swimming toward the women as others from the party were arriving. Ms. Parrott and Ryane were rescued by two men using a life ring and a jet ski, but Coppedge had submerged by then. He drowned.
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