A tragedy at the Outer Banks in North Carolina

Here's a tragic story, from dailypress.com, of beach going again, our deep sympathy and prayers go to the family:

The body of a 19-year-old Gloucester man was found after he went missing while swimming Wednesday at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Brian Mouring's body was found about 1 nautical mile from where he went missing while swimming near the Oregon Inlet, said Petty Officer 3rd Class David Marin, a spokesman with Coast Guard office in Portsmouth. Mouring's body was found by a park service ranger near a campground at Oregon Inlet.

"The body was found by park service rangers," Marin said. "We assisted with the search and were oncall if there was any other need for us but it was park service that recovered the body."

Mouring was camping with four friends at Oregon Inlet in the Outer Banks as their last hurrah of summer before they parted ways for school, said Mouring's grandfather, John Mouring. Just before heading home on Wednesday, they decided to take a final swim.

He was in water waist- to chest-deep near a friend when a freak wave larger than others suddenly reared up. Mouring's friend spied it in time to dive into the wave or under it. When he looked back for Brian Mouring, all he saw was foam.

"Brian may have been caught by surprise and slammed into the sand," John Mouring said. "We think he was rendered unconscious or couldn't help himself."

It is not an unfamiliar case. It was being called a freaque wave which may not necessarily be a very large one either. But the key that caused the tragedy was clearly the part that was "caught by surprise." One has to be on alert at all time. Never let the guard down. Don't ever be allow yourself be "caught by surprise."