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Missing windsurfer from Space Coast is second Florida death from Idalia

Horseshoe Beach Idalia aftermath
Posted at 8:01 AM, Sep 07, 2023
and last updated 2023-09-07 08:01:25-04

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A windsurfer who went missing off Florida's Space Coast the day after Hurricane Idalia made landfall last week has been declared the state's second death from the Category 3 storm, officials said Wednesday.

The 60-year-old man went missing while windsurfing in the Banana River last Thursday, a day after Idalia made landfall with 125 mph (201 kph) winds across the state in Florida's remote Big Bend region, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

The other Idalia-related death in Florida confirmed by the state's 25 local district medical examiners was in Gainesville, but officials didn't release details.

A man in Valdosta, Georgia, also died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.