Man Dies After Doing Battle With Ocean Current

Park visitor Robert Rusinack, 70, of Hopwood, Pennsylvania, was swimming and boogie boarding in the ocean at Rodanthe on the afternoon of July 4th when a possible rip current caught his board and pulled it out to sea. Rusinack swam after the board to retrieve it. In doing so, he became caught in the current. Two of his younger relatives tried to swim out and assist him, but became distressed themselves.  Local surfers assisted the relatives back to safety, then noticed that Rusinack was not breathing. CPR was begun. Chicamacomico Banks Volunteer Fire Department and Dare County EMS assisted NPS rangers. Rusinack was pronounced dead at the scene.