A Catawba County man drowned off Oak Island, NC on Sunday.
Oak Island emergency responders were called out for reports of swimmers in distress Sunday afternoon around 2 p.m. 52-year-old Kevin Whitley of Hickory was pronounced dead after being pulled from the surf. A number of other swimmers were rescued.
The water was unsettled from Tropical Storm Colin and officials upgraded the beach warning system to a red flag Sunday afternoon, indicating a high risk of rip and longshore currents and dangerous surf conditions.
The storm formed along the South Carolina coast on Saturday morning and by late Saturday night had weakened into a tropical depression.