Police believe they located the body of a Florida man who sacrificed his life to try to save a father and his young child who were swept away from shore by a strong current, Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office revealed on Monday that it has found the body of 27-year-old Kristoff Murray. Although the medical examiner is still conducting the identification process, Sheriff Chad Chronister felt confident enough that the body was Murray’s to offer his condolences to the family.
“To the Murray family: Your husband, your brother – his actions were nothing less than heroic,” Sheriff Chronister said. “He risked and ultimately gave his life for two strangers that were in need. This certainly isn’t the outcome that any of us wanted, but we hope that the Murray family can get some peace and comfort knowing that there is some closure.”
On Friday, Murray reportedly jumped into the water at the Apollo Beach Nature Preserve to save a father and his son. Unfortunately, the current was too strong for Murray to rescue them and their bodies were found hours after the incident. The two were eventually identified as 37-year-old Janosh Purackal and his 3-year-old son, Daniel.
