Death Investigation: Sarasota Police investigating Sunday drowning

The Sarasota Police Department updated their Instagram page earlier today, Sunday, April 23, 2023, notifying the public of a current death investigation as a result of drowning.

"Sarasota Police detectives are investigating a drowning in the 1900 block of Benjamin Franklin Drive. It happened just before 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, 2023," the post states in part, furthering that this is an isolated incident and the public is not in any danger, but the investigation is ongoing. No other information about the victim or circumstances have been released at the time of publishing.

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"so sad, my friends and I saw lifeguards running and police boat race down there," one Facebook user commented on the Sarasota Police Department's same Facebook post.

According to the Florida Department of Health , Florida ranked fifth in the U.S. for unintentional drowning deaths for all ages in 2020, furthering that the state is first in unintentional drowning deaths in the U.S. for children ages one to four years and is third in the U.S. for children up to seventeen.

"Annually there are enough children under the age of 5 lost to drowning (50 in 2019, 60 in 2020, and 75 in 2021) to fill three or four preschool classrooms," the health department's article on drowning prevention states. You can learn more about how to prevent drowning through the Florida Department of Health's website here.