By Associated Press - Thursday, May 16, 2019

ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. (AP) - Authorities have identified a man who along with a boy drowned on the North Carolina coast.

News outlets report Atlantic Beach Police Chief Jeff Harvey says emergency personnel found 24-year-old Austin Potter floating face down on Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean after being swept out by the rip current. Harvey says Potter and the 5-year-old boy were pulled from the water, but both died at a local hospital.

Harvey did not release the child’s name.

The chief said his department is trying to step up efforts to keep officers at the beach during the summer.

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