Florida authorities resumed their search Tuesday morning for a Thomasville man swept away by the Gulf of Mexico waters after he rescued a boy struggling in the surf.

Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said units and personnel were back on the surf at daybreak Tuesday in the hopes of finding Bruce Maynor Jr., 29, of Thomasville.

“We’re still looking,” Smith said. “We searched the entire beach and shore on St. George Island.”

Rough waters and bad weather deterred Monday’s search efforts but the conditions improved Tuesday, allowing authorities to send boats and a helicopter to the waters off St. George Island. 

Maynor was part of a large family outing Sunday on St. George Island. When a 12-year-old boy who was part of the party struggled in the waters, Maynor went to get him. Maynor passed the boy off to another person and the boy reached shoreline safely, Smith said.

But the currents proved too strong for Maynor and he was pulled under the waves.

Seas Sunday were in the three-to-five and four-to-six-foot range, “too rough to be in the water,” Smith said.

Red warning flags were posted on beaches to alert swimmers and beachgoers of the dangerous conditions.

“If those red flags are raised and the surf is rough, don’t go in,” Smith said. 

The sheriff added that people who are not familiar with the water in the area may not know how dangerous it can be. 

“Even when you’re in it only ankle-deep, you can feel it pull you,” he said. “People who haven’t experienced it don’t understand how powerful it is.”

A local hotel has provided rooms free of charge for the Maynor family while they wait for the search to conclude, Smith said.

Editor Pat Donahue can be reached at (229) 226-2400 ext. 1806.