Oak Island Police Department investigating drowning

Officials say a 37-year-old from Ohio is dead after an accidental drowning Sunday

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WWAY) – Just after 5 p.m. Sunday, Oak Island Police responded to a call of a missing swimmer near the Beach Access Location at SE 75th street.

Bystanders attempted to find 37-year-old Brannon Rife from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, in the water and brought him to shore. Officials say they performed lifesaving measures like CPR as Fire Department crews arrived.

Rife was transported to Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased.

The Oak Island Police Department is performing a death investigation following this incident. At present, this is being ruled as an Accidental Drowning. There were no reported signs of distress, and no adverse water conditions were apparent at the time; surf conditions were at green flag. It is unknown at this time if there were any pre-existing or sudden medical conditions which may have been a contributing factor.