A US army vet who was swept out to sea while trying to save his toddler son and wife from the waves has been pictured.
James Everett du Bois, 49, went swimming with his Thai wife, Siriarmorn Phetarwut, 49, and their son Boonpat, aged three, at the Nai Harn Beach in Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday afternoon.
A powerful current reportedly swept the family away from the shore and deeper into the churning waters around 4.50pm.
While his wife managed to swim back to the beach, Mr du Bois was dragged away in the strong waves. Their toddler son was rescued by lifeguards.
Divers and rescue personnel scoured the area for three hours until 8.10pm last night when the search was suspended due to poor visibility and strong winds.
James Everett du Bois, 49, went swimming with his Thai wife, Siriarmorn Phetarwut, 49, and their son Boonpat, aged three, at the Nai Harn Beach in Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday afternoon (pictured: the family during a previous beach trip)
Divers and rescue personnel scoured the area for three hours until 8.10pm last night when the search was suspended due to poor visibility and strong winds
Rawai Mayor Arun Soros said: ‘The wife and boy are now safe, but the American man is still missing. We are continuing to search for the man but we believe he has drowned’
The operation resumed this morning, with boats and drones deployed to scour nearby beaches and islands.
Mr du Bois, from Shelby, Ohio, was a Supply Specialist in the US Army from 1996 to 2022 and later went to Belize as a missionary in 2018.
He regularly posted about his family on Facebook, especially his son. The proud father wrote: ‘My son is my joy, my pride, my motivation, my best friend, my life!’
The American father-of-two said on social media that he lives in Rawai with his family, which is right next to the beach where he went missing.
He posted many pictures and videos of his son and their Beagle dog Bella on previous trips to the beach.
Mr du Bois captioned one photo of his son saying: ‘I can’t imagine a life without my son! He makes everyday worth living.’
The 49-year-old also has an older daughter named Kayla. As he congratulated her on her birthday, he wrote: ‘Although we are far apart, I love you and miss you dearly.’
Mr du Bois appeared to be selling bikes in the Rawai area and shared pictures of happy customers on his social media account.
Mr du Bois captioned one photo of his son saying: ‘I can’t imagine a life without my son! He makes everyday worth living’
James du Bois posted a picture of himself during his army days to mark Veterans Day on Facebook
The operation resumed this morning, with boats and drones deployed to scour nearby beaches and islands
Nai Harn Beach (pictured) reportedly had a yellow flag up when the family got into difficulty in the water, while other nearby beaches flew a red flag
Divers were deployed in the search for the 49-year-old American father and veteran
Rawai Mayor Arun Soros said: ‘At 4:45 pm, the family were swimming around 10 metres from the shore, but they were pulled by the current into the sea.
‘The wife and boy are now safe, but the American man is still missing. We are continuing to search for the man but we believe he has drowned.’
Thailand’s beaches are the most dangerous between June and December when the monsoon rainy season brings strong winds, causing choppy conditions in the ocean.
Nai Harn Beach reportedly had a yellow flag up when the family got into difficulty in the water, while other nearby beaches flew a red flag.
A yellow flag means that swimming is allowed, but that swimmers should be careful due to potentially windy conditions causing waves.
Witnesses told local media that they saw waves of up to 10ft off Nai Harn Beach.
Mayor Soros has raised questions in front of local reporters as to why no red flag was flown at the beach despite the dangerous conditions.