Parks’ mother Carolyn Parks told WESH 2 that her son Damian Parks, 22, “wasn’t a good swimmer”. According to the U.S. Coast Guard report, Parks had lost his grip on a friend’s hand in the ocean on early Sunday. Parks and four of his friends were swimming near a popular waterpark, and Daytona Beach Patrol officers says “it’s never a good idea to swim in the ocean without lifeguards on duty.”
[quote_box_center]“I don’t know why it happened, why he would go into the water like this, because he is not a good swimmer. I don’t know what happened. And I had talked to him just before he came out here and he told me he was tired and was going to rest, not knowing he was going to come out here to the beach,” Carolyn Parks said.[/quote_box_center]
“Parks, 22, and four of his friends were swimming near Sun Splash Park in Daytona Beach early Sunday morning when he yelled for help and lost his grip on a friend’s hand in the ocean,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard report.
Carolyn Parks said, “He might be gone in the physical, but (spiritually) he’s always going to do what he wants to do. He’s going to be dancing up there. He’s going to be singing and stepping.”
Bethune-Cookman University, one of the country’s 107 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), posted on its Facebook page “Today, we mourn the loss of a young Wildcat, Mr. Damian Parks. We ask that you keep his family, friends and loved ones in prayer.”
Damian Parks, a student attending Bethune-Cookman, was reported missing since Sunday around 3. a.m., according to the official Facebook account for B-CU. The post continues that the school “is working with the Daytona Beach Police Department and beach patrol on this case.”
[quote_box_center]Bethune-Cookman University student Damian Parks was reported missing around 3 a.m. this morning from the shores of Sun Splash Park on Daytona Beach. The Volusia County Beach Patrol launched a search for the student and, at the time of this statement, have not found him. B-CU staff and students gathered at the beach earlier and are still hopeful for the safe return of Damian Parks. The B-CU Department of Public Safety is working with the Daytona Beach Police Department and beach patrol on this case.#PrayersforDamian[/quote_box_center]
Bethune-Cookman University is offering grief counseling for students.
