NEED TO KNOW
-
A U.K. father died trying to save his 18-year-old son as he was pulled out to sea in Queensland, Australia, in April
-
This week, a coroner’s hearing in Wales determined that the cause of death for both men was “consistent with drowning”
-
A friend tried to save the pair, but was unable to reach them
A dad attempted to save his 18-year-old son as he was pulled out to sea by a rip current during a family vacation in Queensland, Australia. They both drowned, despite a friend’s attempts to rescue them.
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, a hearing held in Newport, Wales, determined that 47-year-old Robin Kenneth Reed and 18-year-old Owen Robin Reed’s cause of death was “consistent with drowning” following the fatal incident at Round Hill Head, a beach in the town of Seventeen Seventy, in April, according to records from Gwent Coroner’s Service shared with PEOPLE.
“He drowned whilst trying to rescue his son who had got into difficulty whilst in the sea,” area coroner Rose Farmer said in the record of the inquest of Robin’s last, heroic act.
That April, the Reed family flew from Wales to Brisbane to spend time with Shayane and Michael Evans and their kids, WalesOnline reported from the hearing. Three days into the trip, the group traveled to Round Hill Head. The Evans family wanted to show their friends a good time at a beach because their U.K. friends didn’t live near one.
No one had visited the beach bordering the Coral Sea before, according to the outlet. Shayane and Michael told the court that they witnessed no warning signs as they approached the beach, and Michael said that the water was “a little choppy but nothing dangerous.”
“I’m very protective of my children and I wouldn’t have gone down if there was anything to suggest we shouldn’t have gone down,” Michael continued, according to WalesOnline.
Shayane recalled watching the children swim. Owen was waist-deep in the water near two other boys, then she watched as he started to “drift out in a rip,” according to the outlet.
At the hearing, Michael said that “one second he was there and the next he wasn’t,” the BBC reported.
In records shared with PEOPLE, the coroner said that Owen was “in the sea when conditions suddenly changed and he was swept out to sea and drowned.”
Both Michael and Owen’s dad, Robin, rushed to save the teen, who was trying to keep his head above water, according to the outlets.
“The water felt like a bus hitting me, it was too rough to swim in. There was wave after wave rolling in the water,” Michael said, according to the BBC. He was unable to reach either man and was smashed into nearby rocks before he was saved by a tourist, according to the outlet.
When Shayane first noticed trouble, she called for help. First responders arrived, including a recovery helicopter, WalesOnline reported.
“The chopper came and it felt like hours they were looking for them,” the woman said, according to the outlet.
Auscape/Universal Images Group via Getty
Round Hill Head beach in Seventeen Seventy, Queensland, Australia.
Owen later washed up on the beach, and he was located at 4 p.m. local time, with a time of death 15 minutes later. Not long after, his dad’s body was recovered by the helicopter, and Robin was pronounced dead at 4:45 p.m., according to WalesOnline.
At the end of the hearing, Farmer concluded that both father and son had died by “misadventure,” according to the reports shared with PEOPLE.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Following the tragic accident, a friend created a GoFundMe for Robin’s widow.
“One of our lovely friends is going through an awful time, having lost both her son and husband in an unexpected accident whilst on holiday,” wrote the organizer, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. “She is going through the ordeal of being miles from home, whilst coming to terms with these [two] awful losses.”
Read the original article on People
