William “Stone” Romberg was fishing with friends on October 25, 2026, along the Gulf shoreline at Carillon Beach in the Panama City Beach area when his cast snagged a seagull. The 31-year-old, who served as beach service manager for La Dolce Vita at the nearby condominium property, entered the water to free the bird. While he attempted to remove the lure, the hook and the seagull became caught on his hand, leaving him entangled. As he tried to swim back to shore near Philips Inlet, the current carried him farther out.

His friends lost sight of him for a time; when they spotted him again he remained tangled in the line. They retrieved him and began CPR until responders arrived, but he could not be saved. Romberg leaves behind his wife Taylor and their two daughters, three-year-old Hadley and one-year-old Lainey, whose first birthday the family had marked only two weeks prior. Originally from the Atlanta area, where he attended high school and where his father remains involved in coaching, Romberg had become a well-known and liked presence among residents and visitors at Carillon Beach. Statements from his workplace and community members emphasized his kindness, hard work, and readiness to ᴀssist others. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office provided confirmation of the drowning to local reporters. In the following days two GoFundMe campaigns raised a combined total exceeding $300,000 to ᴀssist the family with immediate expenses. Coverage of the incident has focused on the sequence in which an ordinary fishing cast led to an entanglement and a current that proved fatal during an attempt to help the animal.

William “Stone” Romberg was doing what he did most weekends along the Gulf Coast. The 31-year-old Atlanta native, who managed beach services for La Dolce Vita at Carillon Beach in Panama City Beach, was fishing with friends near Philips Inlet on the afternoon of October 25, 2026. He cast his line into the water off the shore in front of the Pinnacle Port Condominiums and, by accident, snagged a seagull. Rather than leave the bird struggling with the hook and line, Romberg entered the water to free it. According to accounts given to local authorities and detailed in fundraising pages set up for his family, both the bird and the hook became caught on his hand as he tried to untangle the lure. When he attempted to swim back toward shore, a strong current carried him farther out into the Gulf. His friends eventually lost sight of him. When they located him again, he was tangled in the fishing line.

They pulled him from the water and began CPR, but Romberg could not be revived. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the drowning. Romberg left behind his wife, Taylor, and their two daughters, Hadley, age three, and Lainey, who had turned one only two weeks earlier. Coworkers at La Dolce Vita and members of the Carillon Beach community described him as a devoted husband and father whose kindness and willingness to help others left a lasting impression. Multiple GoFundMe campaigns were launched within days to cover funeral expenses and support the family; within a short time the combined efforts had raised well over $300,000. Tributes poured in from people who knew him both in Florida and back in metro Atlanta, where he had grown up and attended high school. The incident has been widely reported as a rare and tragic outcome of an attempt to help an animal, with the combination of the hook catching on his hand and the sudden current proving fatal.