Man Drowns Off Madeira Beach But 6-Year-Old Son Saved

MADEIRA BEACH, FL — Pinellas County sheriff's deputies are investigating the death of a 33-year-old man who drowned after the dinghy he was in sank off the Tom Stuart Causeway Friday night.

The sheriff’s dive team and marine unit, along with the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, found the body of Dwight Haggins Saturday morning.

The sheriff's office said it received a call at 11:10 p.m. Friday night from a person who heard someone yelling for help in the gulf behind the Madeira Beach Fundamental Elementary School, 591 Tom Stuart Causeway.

Deputies said Haggins was with his 6-year-old son Kapone Fitzgerald and friends Erik Echols and Nicholas Dunski, both 31. The group was crossing the water at the Madeira Beach McDonald's, 650 150th Ave., to reach Dunski's boat, which was anchored offshore.

The dinghy began taking on water and Haggins, who was not wearing a life jacket, was unable to make it to shore. Haggins' son and friends made it to shore safely.