Medical history could give clue in Daytona Beach man's drowning

STAFF WRITER

  June 17, 2011 7:54 AM

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• News

Investigators are awaiting the medical history of a man who drowned Thursday in the Atlantic Ocean to see if existing conditions could have played a role in his death.
Initial indications are that alcohol could have been a factor in the first drowning reported off Volusia and Flagler county beaches this year.  An autopsy has been ordered.
Mark Howe, 52, Daytona Beach, was wading into the ocean at the Zelda Boulevard approach with two friends when he stumbled and fell about 5:20 p.m., according to Beach Patrol Capt. Tammy Marris.  Howe lived nearby and died an hour later despite his friends' efforts to save him.