Authorities have identified an 18-year-old who drowned in Nags Head last week as Ibrahim Salam Sankoh of Columbus, Ohio.
On July 3 at 2:51 p.m., first responders were called to Gull Street public beach access in the 7100 block of South Virginia Dare Trail for reports of three swimmers in distress. One was able to get out on their own and another had been helped by a Nags Head lifeguard. They were both taken to the hospital.
An officer with the Nags Head Police Department deployed a drone and found the third swimmer. Lifeguards brought Sankoh to shore, and he was taken to The Outer Banks Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Yellow flags were flying on beaches across the Outer Banks on July 3, warning beach-goers of the potential for deadly rip currents. For daily updates on Outer Banks ocean conditions and beach safety, see lovethebeachrespecttheocean.com.
