PANAMA CITY BEACH — A 27-year-old Chipley man died in what deputies suspect to be a work-related electrocution accident.
According to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office incident report, deputies were dispatched to 7935 North Lagoon Drive shortly before 9 a.m. on Monday.
The 911 call was placed by homeowner Yonnie Patronis, the general manager of Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City Beach, to report that pool repairman Ryan Cook was unresponsive.
“A co-worker came around the side of the house and found him in the pool,” said Ruth Corley, public information officer for Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident report said Jeremy Fields of Panama City Beach told deputies he and Cook, both employed by Cox Pools, were at the residence to repair the pool’s lights.
Fields said in the report that he walked to the work truck parked on the side of the residence to get the new lights out. He stated that when he’d returned to the pool, he saw Cook in the bottom of the pool.
Fields reported that he got into the pool, pulled Cook out and asked the homeowner to call 911.
The report said deputies worked to revive Cook with CPR and an automated external defibrillator until Bay County Fire and EMS arrived.
Cook was then taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, Cook’s family was trying to pick up the pieces. Cook was the stepson of Michelle Cook, mayor of Vernon.
Cook’s stepmother said he will be remembered for his “laid-back, take-life-as-it-comes” approach to living.
She described a man who’d experienced too much grief in recent years, having lost his mother and grandfather. Yet, the young man’s life was on the upswing when the tragic accident occurred.
“We are comforted by knowing his last few months were filled with a peaceful joy from restoring his family after reconciling with the mother of his children, Ashley,” Cook said. “The contentment of having his precious children, Gracie and Matthew, and Ashley back in his life could have only brought that back to him.”
The deputy’s report said black electrical lines with bare ends were inside the pool while at the scene, but a cause of death will be determined by an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday.
“We won’t know what actually killed him until the medical examiner gives his report,” Corley said.
Cox Pools did not return calls to The News Herald on Tuesday requesting a comment. The victim’s family will proceed with funeral arrangements once the medical examiner releases Cook’s body.
“We are all at a loss for words at the outpouring of love and support from our family and friends in this difficult time,” Cook said.
WashingtonCountyNews editor Carol Kent contributed to this report.
An earlier version of this story is posted below:
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A 27-year-old Chipley man died from a suspected electrocution incident in a work-related accident on Monday.
Ryan Cook, who was employed by a local pool company, and a co-worker were at a home on North Lagoon Drive to replace the wiring to the home’s pool lights.
According to Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Cook was in the pool around 9 a.m. while his co-worker was at the breaker box. He yelled to Cook that it was safe to pull on the wires. When there was no reply, the co-worker walked around the house to check on Cook and found him floating in the water.
The employee pulled Cook from the pool and began CPR. Cook was transported to a hospital but pronounced dead.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday to determine a final cause of death, the Sheriff’s Office said.