Sarasota Police investigate July 4th drowning

Police continue to investigate the drowning of a man near the 10th Avenue Boat Ramp on Wednesday.

Detectives with the Sarasota Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit have not publicly identified the victim, pending family notification, and say the death appears to be accidental. Police said the victim was in his mid-50s.

Officers were called to the area around 12:10 p.m. Wednesday on a report of swimmers in distress. Officers learned two men had been swimming for an undetermined period of time in the area of the boat ramp and Centennial Park.

According to a report from the police department, the two men lost sight of each other. One of the men eventually found the other unresponsive in the water. A passing boater called 911 after spotting the two men.

Officers from the Sarasota Police Marine Unit responded and found one man alive and the other dead.