St. C Woman Drowns In N.C.
Falbo family was caught in currentBy JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH
ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Don Falbo Jr. doesn't want any of his Ohio Valley neighbors to endure the same kind of "horror story" his family is experiencing in the wake of a vacation that took a tragic turn.
That's why he is warning local residents about the dangers of swimming in the ocean - an activity that claimed his wife's life Monday.
Teresa Lynn Nowakowski Falbo, 46, of St. Clairsville died Monday as the result of an accident that occurred Saturday at Kure Beach in Wilmington, N.C. Reports published by the Wilmington Star News state Teresa Falbo had been swimming with her son, 17-year-old Vince Magnone, and husband about 3:30 p.m. Saturday when lifeguards had to rush into the water to help them.
Teresa Falbo was taken to the intensive care unit of New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington and died there Monday morning, according to the New Hanover County medical examiner. Don Falbo, 49, also was in intensive care but was released from the hospital Sunday. Magnone recovered once on shore.
Don Falbo said Wednesday that the family had driven 12 hours to reach their destination and spent only about 15 minutes unloading the car and changing clothes before hitting the beach. He estimated their vacation lasted only 45 minutes before tragedy struck.
"We were so excited ... it was hot, beautiful and we were ready to get cooled off," he said. "We went to beach with five children and dove right in. It just happened within a couple minutes."
He stressed that travelers from the Ohio Valley must be extremely cautious when entering the unfamiliar Atlantic Ocean.
"You just don't know the ocean," he added. "It's too powerful."
Falbo said his stepson made it out of the water after the trio was caught in a rip tide, but he and his wife - both strong swimmers - were pulled far away from the shore by the current.
"We were just knee deep, maybe waist deep, when all of a sudden we realized we were so far out," Don Falbo said. "We didn't know how we got there; we just didn't understand.
"The beach was so far away - 50 yards," he continued. "She was out even farther than me, and I tried to go back to get her. I got ahold of her, and we were both stuck way out there. As hard as you struggled, you just could not gain one inch toward shore. ... We were both out of breath, out of steam. I just couldn't pull her in. The waves kept crashing, then a big wave came and put us both under. When I came back up, she was unconscious in the water."
Falbo said as he tried to pull his wife to the beach, lifeguards came and took her to the shore before returning to get him.
"She was unconscious too long," he added. "They performed CPR for over 10 minutes and finally got her heartbeat back, but they couldn't get her breathing. She couldn't make it out of that."
Despite the loss of his wife, Don Falbo had nothing but kind words for the people and emergency crews of the Kure Beach area after he returned home.
He was especially impressed with the way the authorities assisted the couple's children and another child from St. Clairsville who was traveling with them. He said that child was flown out of North Carolina to Atlanta and then returned to their parents' care at home.
"I commend the people of Kure Beach. They helped so much it was unbelievable," Falbo said regarding the aftermath of the accident. "The police took the kids to the beach house and got them pizza."
He noted a social worker helped law enforcement locate Joe and Mariann Bressler, a couple who had been the Falbos' neighbors in St. Clairsville. The Bresslers moved to the Wilmington area some time ago, Falbo said, and quickly took in the Falbos children - Magnone, Donie Falbo, Nicholas Falbo and Isabel Falbo - and cared for them until Don was released from the hospital.
"People were coming out of the palm trees, bringing food, blankets, anything they could do to help," Falbo added, noting members of the Kure Beach lifeguard squad later came to the family's beach house to see him. "They worked as hard as they could. There were three to four lifeguards at a time pulling us with ropes. They did a tremendous job."
Teresa Falbo was employed by Belmont County Job and Family Services and was a member of the Church of Christ, St. Clairsville. The Falbo family owns and operates a longtime Martins Ferry barbershop.
"This is a very sad happening," Martins Ferry Mayor Phil Wallace said on behalf of his city. "I wish the best for the family, and I hope they can keep a positive attitude. God be with them."
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Joanie1982
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06-13-09 8:18 PM
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My sympathy for the family. Riptides and rough ocen currents can do weird things. One time in Ocean city NJ, i was in water thigh deep when a wave about 5 feet high smacked me so hard I ended up face down in the water, unable to straighten up till the water receded, about 30 seconds and when I did the water again was less then 3 feet. It's a testament to the husband's love for his wife that by telling his story, another life might be saved. Being from Nj I can tell you: When they say "no swimming", what it means is NEVER enter water higher than ANKLE deep!!!
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WVXPAT
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06-11-09 8:28 PM
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Agree with 2Cents, the article should have done more - thanks for the education. We were in Ocean City one time and had to resuce a Mexican gentleman who got caught in the rip current. It is very scary but if you don't panic you will make it out.
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RockEReputation
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06-11-09 6:06 PM
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Very sad occurence, heartfelt condolences..the currents off of NC and northern SC are wicked (I go there often and experienced 'em) ...its called "the graveyard of the Atlantic" because the proximity to the Atlantic current and the wickedness of the water there have consumed so many ships over the centuries.
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examiner
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06-11-09 1:09 PM
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I happen to live in North Carolina and have visited Kure Beach as well Emerald Isle, and our daughter lives near Morehead City. more than once we saddly saw those areas take a life. I happen to loose a brother in the Ohio River back in 1959 due to a whirlpool in the water. He was 14 yrs. old. The only way to look at this is "God needed another Angel" and after reading this I see for sure He took one Home. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. And thank you for all the kind things you made comment on those in North Carolina who showed you their kindness and were available to do what they could to help you and your family endure your loss.
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2Cents
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06-11-09 12:32 PM
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CONTINUED.... If you are on a lifeguarded beach, they will come for you no matter how far you drift out. Just float or tread water and wave for help. Once they've seen you, turn around and face the sea (not the shore) so that you can be prepared for the waves that will come over your head. If you manage to get out of the current at this point, swim diagonally into shore so as not to get caught up in again. I read one article that stated that over 90% of rip current drowning deaths happen to people who live in non-ocean bordering states - because they don't know how to survive one. Everyone goes to the beach at some point in their life, so everyone who reads this article should go online and do some research on it, and tell everyone they know about it. Maybe that way, the loss of Theresa will actually save another's life or lives. God bless her husband and children.
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2Cents
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06-11-09 12:18 PM
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This is very sad. My heart goes out to the family. It sounds like everyone did everything they could to save her. However, I think the reporter who wrote the article should have done a little more than tell the story. The husband said that he wants to "warn local residents about the dangers of the ocean." He did that. He shared his tragic story with us. It would have been nice if the reporter had followed his story with some research of how to survive a rip current(the correct term) so that people know what to do in the event that they ever find themselves in this situation. So, since the reporter did not do any research on it, I did... If you ever find yourself being pulled out to sea by a rip current, do not panic, do not try to swim against it. You should swim parallel to the beach until you get out of the current, and then you can swim in to shore. If you are unable to swim parallel or become exhausted, just float on your back or tread water and go with the current. TO
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CTMountaineer
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06-11-09 10:04 AM
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A riptide is very powerful, and generally a person doesn't know he/she is caught up in one. If you don't have your eyes on the shore, even if you are in shallow water and you tread water, every time your feet leave the ocean floor you can be dragged further out to sea. I got caught in one off the shore of Greece once without realizing it and was very fortunate to make it back in alive. They can move quite quickly, and when you try to swim back to shore you are going against the current. Even a very strong swimmer can have trouble with it.
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ChrissyB
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06-11-09 9:04 AM
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how very tragic, my condolences and prayers are with the family during this trying time. May God Bless You and Keep the rest of you safe and together.
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TheRealityPolice
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06-11-09 7:45 AM
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Very sad - riptides are serious; more people drown due to riptide sin the ocean than you can imagine. Especially on the West coast, where they are even more powerful - signs are up on many beaches near Santa Cruz, for example. My thoughts are prayers are with this family; tragic.
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rockdrummer
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06-11-09 2:26 AM
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this is so sad. God be with this family.
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