Swimmer drowns in rip current near 25th St.

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(May 12, 2023) The Ocean City Police Department found the body of 21-year-old Praise Ezechibueze, of New Jersey, on May 7, the day after he drowned in a rip current and disappeared near 25th Street, according to a press release.

“In my 51 years with the Beach Patrol, this situation has repeated itself again, and again, and again,” said Capt. Butch Arbin of the Ocean City

Beach Patrol.

Last Saturday, at around 3:30 p.m., the Ocean City Fire Department and OCPD responded to a call about a swimmer who went missing in the water.

Witnesses had seen Ezechibueze caught in a rip current and heard him screaming for help, Arbin said. One surfer had been making his way toward Ezechibueze when they saw a wave come over him. The surfer didn’t see Ezechibueze again.

The water temperature was about 55.8 degrees Fahrenheit that day, according to Seatemperature.info.

Ocean City Beach Patrol, United States Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police joined the search.

Around 5:30 a.m. the next morning, a person walking along the beach reported a body near Fourth Street. The Major Crimes Unit and Forensic Services responded to the call, and detectives identified the body as

Ezechibueze. His body was taken to Holloway Funeral Home.

Ninety-eight percent of all drownings in Ocean City happen when the Beach Patrol is not on duty, Arbin said. He reiterated the Beach Patrol motto, “Keep your feet in the sand until the lifeguard’s in the stand.”

Rip currents are the number one safety hazard on Ocean City Beaches, Arbin said. On average, Beach Patrol conducts around 2,000-4,000 res-

See RIP Page 21