Crowded beaches, rip currents keep lifeguards busy along Volusia Beaches

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Volusia County beaches were packed Monday thanks to beautiful weather and the Memorial Day holiday.

Dangerous rip currents kept lifeguards busy throughout the day. About 30 people had been rescued by 5 p.m.

A near-drowning created some tense moments. Gustavo Camacho was in a rip current with his son Alan. Alan Camacho said his dad saved him.

"My dad made me go up on his shoulders and he told me to swim back and back and said, 'Don't stop, just keep going,'" said Alan Camacho.

Alan Camacho made it to shore safe, but his dad appeared lifeless as Melissa Horton and lifeguards dragged him in.

"I'm a nurse and that's what we do, you know. I work in the (emergency room) and I have kids and just like if you would see someone going under water, y'all would have done the same thing," said Horton.

An outgoing tide along central Florida's beaches, including Volusia County's, kept lifeguards busier than they've been in months. There were 107 rescues Sunday and it didn't slow down much Monday.

"It just kind of underscores the severity of the conditions right now. The surf doesn't look that bad, but this is some of the worse conditions we've had," said Scott Petersohn with Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue.

Those conditions nearly claimed Gustavo Camacho's life.

"He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know? It can happen to anybody," said Horton.

Rip currents were not the only hazards to contend with. An 11-year-old suffered a very minor shark bite in Ormond Beach Monday.

WFTV