Screaming RAF officer washed out to sea past his wife and son on Hell’s Mouth beach

Sgt Stephen Hulsmeier had been enjoying a day at Porth Neigwl beach, known as ‘Hell’s Mouth’, with his family and friends last August when tragedy struck

An RAF officer has died in front of his wife and son after being swept out to sea at a beach known as Hell’s Mouth.

Sgt Stephen Anthony Hulsmeier, 47, and his friend’s 12-year-old daughter were caught in a fierce tidal current while on vacation.

The father-of-one had spent a day at Porth Neigwl beach – known as ‘Hell’s Mouth’ – Gwynedd, Wales, with his family and two other families when tragedy struck on August 6 from Last year.

WalesOnline reports that an inquest in Caernarfon heard the sergeant and a friend’s 12-year-old daughter had been taken out to sea and started struggling in the rough waters.

After the tragedy, RAF Brize Norton shared the following photo of Sgt Huglsmeier – known as Hulzi to his friends.

The station said he was a popular aeronautical engineer and in his 23 years of service worked at many squadrons and stations including Coltishall, Coningsby, Leuchars, Cosford and most recently Brize Norton.

The court heard from Christopher Brown, who sounded the alarm after spotting the pair a few yards from shore.

Mr Brown, who described himself as Sgt Hulsmeier’s ‘lifelong best friend’, said he was watching the children in the water when he realized the two had disappeared from the shallows in which they paddled before.

Mr Brown said the couple looked ‘obviously terrified’ as they swam towards them. He said they were about 40m out to sea and “visibly struggling in the deep water”, but eventually Mr Brown managed to reach the girl and pull her to safety.

He then returned to sea, where Sgt Hulsmeier was struggling to stay afloat due to the “fearsome” current. He said: “There was very little mercy from the sea, I could see he was going underwater.

“He was screaming and screaming for help. I managed to get him to hold my ankle for about 20 seconds, but we were both dragged under relentless waves and when I surfaced he was a few feet away again. meters.”

Completely exhausted, Mr Brown realized he could not reach his friend and turned to shore for help. He said: “I kept screaming and Steve telling him to keep fighting and stay with me, I could hear him screaming behind me.”

Mr Brown collapsed on arriving on the beach and was told Sgt Hulsmeier had come out of the water.

The inquest heard a team including coast guard, police and paramedics and members of the public pulled him from the sea and started CPR.

They tried for two hours to revive the father-of-one, but he was sadly pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m.

His wife Becky has since paid tribute to her husband, a popular aeronautical engineer who had served in the RAF for 23 years.

Following their tragic loss, the family of Sgt Hulsmeier have questioned the safety measures at Porth Neigwl beach, which is managed by Gwynedd Council.

In a statement read at the inquest, his wife Becky said: “This is a beach we have been to many times in previous years and lifeguards have never been around.

“I believe that if there had been rescuers or clearer signs, it might have prevented my husband’s death.”

The inquiry was heard by Barry Davies, director of marine services for Gwynedd Council, who said ‘rigorous periodic risk assessments’ are carried out to ensure public safety.

Mr Davies said while between 35 and 40 guards are employed by the council in peak season, they are not lifeguards and are assigned to beaches based on the level of activity at each beach.

On the day of the incident, no guards had been assigned to Hell’s Mouth Beach, as it is considered a natural beach and is not one of the county’s blue flag tourist beaches.

He told the court that Sgt Hulsmeier’s death was the first of its kind on the beach since he took office in 1996.

Tearfully addressing the family, he said: ‘We feel sorry for you, and it has touched us all deeply, we have all been affected by this tragic case.

An autopsy conducted by Dr Muhammad Aslam at Glan Clwyd Hospital gave a cause of death as drowning.

North West Wales Deputy Coroner Sarah Riley has recorded an inquest finding into the mishap.

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