Alabama, Kentucky Men Drown Trying To Save Boy: Authorities

GULF SHORES, AL — An Owensboro, Kentucky, man and an Elberta, Alabama, man drowned Monday afternoon trying to save a 12-year-old boy, who was playing in the surf and began yelling for help near Gulf Shores Plantation Condominiums. The U.S. Coast Guard found the body of Steven Wahler, 47, said Capt. Stephen Arnold of the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. A search remains ongoing for Bradley Murphy, 21, he said.

The two men were trying to save a boy struggling in Gulf Coast waters churned up by Hurricane Nate, authorities said Tuesday. They didn't directly fault the storm for the deaths, but forecasters said the storm caused dangerous rip currents that were still a problem at the time of the drownings.

"The Gulf is still obviously pretty choppy, and with that kind of wind the currents and the rip tides are pretty strong," he said. (For more information on the drownings and other Mobile-area stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Wahler and Murphy both entered the water to try to help the boy, Arnold said. Authorities aren't sure if the three knew each other.

The youth made it back ashore, the Coast Guard said in a statement. A 45-foot Coast Guard boat left Dauphin Island shortly before 6 p.m. and located one body, the statement said. A Coast Guard boat was searching for Murphy with assistance of local agencies, Arnold said. The search could be expanded eastward or westward of the original scene because of currents, he said.

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