Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 6-18-21

Local
Body Found Is Believed To Be Good Samaritan
Friday evening, around 7 p.m., a man and child were at the Apollo Beach Nature Pre- serve, 6773 Surside Boule- vard, when they were observed being swept away by the current Several 9-1-1 calls were made and deputies were dis- patched to the location.
Around 9 p.m., the bodies of Janosh Purackal, 36, and his 3-year-old son, Daniel Purackal, both of Gibsonton, were located around 9 p.m., Friday. The father was deceased when found. The child died after being transported to the hos- pital.
Witnesses told police the two were said to be wading in the water at the nature pre- serve, when a strong current swept them further into the
KRISTOFF MURRAY
Chad Chronister, Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff said on Monday afternoon that a body believed to be Kristoff Murray had been recovered.
but was caught by the cur- rent as well.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, Aviation Unit, and Dive Team, along with Hillsbor- ough Fire Rescue, and the U. S. Coast Guard, were imme- diately activated.
The search by police con- tinued for Murray, who did not resurface. The search continued through the week- end in an attempt to find Murray.
Hillsborough County
Sheriff Chad Chronister
said, “Our hearts break for the father and son who lost their lives tonight. The horri- ble sight led a selfless stranger to sacrifice his own life, in an attempt to save them.
“As we aggressively search these waters to try and locate this individual, we are urging everyone to re- member that water safety is paramount.”
During a press confer- ence Monday afternoon, Sheriff Chronister said based on the preliminary ev- idence, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office be- lieves it has identified the body of an adult male victim found in the Apollo Beach area as Kristoff Murray, a Good Samaritan who at- tempted to save a father and son from drowning on Fri- day, June 11, at the Apollo Beach Nature Preserve.
At 12:41 p.m. on Monday, June 14, the body of an adult male matching the height, weight, and clothing descrip- tion of Murray was located by Hillsborough County Zon- ing and Maritime Safety on a spoil island west of the TECO Power Plant in Apollo Beach.
The HCSO Marine Unit was notified, recovered the body, and contacted relatives of Murray to inform them of their finding.
Sheriff Chronister fur- ther said, “Since Friday night’s tragedy, we put an ex- tensive amount of resources into our search, because we wanted to provide this brave man's family with the same amount of hope he gave to a father and son in their time of need.
“His actions were nothing short of heroic. While this is not the outcome anyone wanted, I hope that with this finding, Mr. Murray's fam- ily will get some form of clo- sure.”
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct a thorough ex- amination to confirm iden- tity and an exact cause of death.
water. Murray went into the water in an attempt to save them.
As the two were observed
in trouble in the water and 27-year-old Kristoff Mur- ray, jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue them,
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