Virginia Man Drowns Off Madeira Beach, Deputies Investigating

MADEIRA BEACH, FL — On Friday, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office marine unit located the body of a missing swimming after searching two days in the Johns Pass area.

On Thursday around 6:40 p.m., deputies responded to Johns Pass for a report of four people struggling to swim. All four swimmers were about one hundred yards west of the swim buoys near Johns Pass.

According to detectives, three of the four swimmers were rescued by bystanders using paddle boards. The fourth swimmer, later identified as 21-year-old Ritvik Dammoju of Virginia, continued to struggle and was further west of the paddle boarders.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office marine unit, flight unit and dive team, along with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Department and the U.S. Coast Guard began to search for the missing swimmer.

Around 8 a.m. Friday, the marine unit and dive team recovered recovered Dammoju's body about a half mile west of the Johns Pass Bridge.

His family has been notified.