Anyone here at HHI now, or from the HHI area???

[LJC1861]

If , and you might have seen or heard any news reports of a drowning off the coast, possibly in the Beaufort, Hupnting Island or Fripp Island area, could you please PM me?

I am looking for information on Matthew Auten who drowned yesterday while on vacation with his family, I believe on Hunting Island, but I am not entirely sure about that. He was my co-worker, and MUCH beloved by both the staff and residents at the group homes where he worked.

We are not getting much information here in Asheville, and the reports that we have heard have conflicting information.

Can anyone help??

Thanks in advance,

Linda

 

[SusieBea]

Did you check the Island Packet? I'm sorry for your loss..

 

[jerseygal]

Oh my God...To drown on vacation with his family! SO TRAGIC AND VERY VERY SAD! Very sorry for your loss of your friend and coworker.

 

[LJC1861]

I did check the Island Packet website and they have the same short piece that the AP picked up. I am hoping that maybe it will be on the local news in the HHI area, and someone can catch it and pass along any new information.

Matt was an amazing man. He was a devout Christian and father of two boys ages 7 and 9. He and his wife Amy homeschooled the boys and they visited their Dad at work quite often. He was the facilities manager for our group homes and handled projects and crises for all 5 seemingly at once. He never got angry, even when the same resident plugged the same toilet tons of times. He had a quick wit, dry sense of humor and LOVED my sugar cookies.

He had been with our agency for only 3 years, following the passing of his predecessor, and in that short time left a huge mark. He was a master woodworker, and when he saw that many of the residents dressers in their bedrooms were in poor shape, he built custom made closet systems for all of them.

He has left a huge hole in the heart of our tiny agency and he is sorely missed already. We, the staff are having a hard time dealing with all of this. Now, this afternoon, when the residents get home from school and work we have to tell all of them. It is not going to be an easy night at WNC group homes.

Linda

 

[s.r.disney nut]

I found this. Hope the link works.
http://www.wtoc.com/story/26325020/north-carolina-man-drowns-on-sc-coast

 

[Shamus]

Sorry for your loss.

Here is an article with some more details:
http://www.thestate.com/2014/08/20/3630834/man-drowned-after-trip-to-harbor.html?sp=/99/132/

Beaufort Island, SC — A North Carolina man, who died Tuesday off Harbor Island, drowned while attempting to return to the island after walking through St. Helena Sound to a nearby sandbar, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

Matthew Auten, 50, of Swannanoa, his wife, Amy, and their two sons had walked to the sandbar at about 11 a.m. to see pelicans, Amy Auten told deputies. At one point, the water was up to their necks, and Amy Auten thought they might be in a dangerous situation, but continued anyway, the report said.

Soon after reaching the sandbar, they tried to return to the island, but the current in the sound had gained strength.

Amy Auten noticed her husband — who was not a strong swimmer, she told deputies — was struggling to swim with one of their sons on his back. She told her son to let go, and the four headed back to the sandbar.

When Amy Auten and the two boys got back to the sandbar, she saw her husband floating face-down, his body headed toward the Johnson Creek Bridge, Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District spokesman Scott Harris said.

A Harbor Island resident noticed three people stranded on the sandbar at about 3 p.m., and they were rescued by Lady’s Island and Fripp Island fire departments.

Moments later, Matthew Auten’s body was found floating in the water off the Harbor Island beach, about 300 yards from where he was last seen, Harris said. His wife and two sons were not injured.

Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen ruled the death an accidental drowning.

“The message we want to get out is that these sandbars are very dangerous,” Harris said Wednesday. “The way our local tides and currents are makes them difficult to get on and off of them.”

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/08/20/...trip-to-harbor.html?sp=/99/132/#storylink=cpy

Very Sad

 

[LJC1861]

Thanks everyone. The information in the longer article is very helpful. Matt's wife called our agency on Thursday to give us information on funeral and memorial service arrangements and told us the same things as the article stated. She also said that it was terrifying how fast the current in the channel changed. This is a truly, truly tragic accident.

Linda