PHUKET — A 49-year-old American man who quit his job in the United States and moved to Thailand to be with his 3-and-a-half-year-old child was found dead. His body washed up on Rawai Beach, Phuket Province, after he was swept away on Sunday afternoon.
The search team officials found the body of Mr. James Everett Du Bois, a 49-year-old American, around midnight on Monday at Nai Han Beach.
Ms. Siriamorn, a 49-year-old American wife, said that the family usually goes to play in the water at Nai Han Beach every Sunday. At 4:00 p.m. on the day of the incident, the waves seemed slightly erratic. The father and child went swimming first while she went to change her clothes.
When she followed them into the sea, the water was normal. At that time, there were children playing all over the place, and they were in the same area. But after a while, waves suddenly started hitting her. When she regained her balance, she looked for her husband and child but couldn’t see them anymore. There were a lot of tourists at that time, and she asked the lifeguards for help. One person went in and brought her son back. She told them that her husband was still missing, but the lifeguards couldn’t find him.
Then, the officials from the Rawai Subdistrict Municipality organized a search team, including a team of divers. However, they had to face unfavorable weather conditions. The operation was suspended for two nights at around 10:30 PM. On Monday night, even though the search operation had been suspended, the rescue team still shone lights along the beach and finally found Du Bois’ body floating near the shore close to where he had disappeared.
After his wife confirmed his identity, the officials then took the body to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a forensic autopsy.
