{"id":2227440,"date":"2026-10-29T14:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2227440"},"modified":"2026-10-29T14:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:41:29","slug":"florida-father-drowns-while-trying-to-save-seagull-caught-in-fishing-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2227440","title":{"rendered":"Florida Father Drowns While Trying to Save Seagull Caught In Fishing Line"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/6c\/16by9\/2026\/10\/29\/6c5e12409fd344a194c999f07a901b24_xl.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"article article--permalink \">\n<header class=\"article__header\">\n<h1 class=\"article__header--headline-title\">Florida Father Drowns While Trying to Save Seagull Caught In Fishing Line<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\"><span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">Florida Dad<\/span><span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">Drowns Trying to Save Seagull<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"social-media-container\" role=\"region\">\n<ul class=\"social social--sm\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\"><\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tmz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"google-preferred-btn js-track-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-btn__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/static.tmz.com\/tmz-web\/img\/article\/google-icon.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"google-preferred-btn__title\">Add TMZ on Google<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/pages\/about\/\">TMZ Staff<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-wrapper\">\n                                                                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-10-29T07:41:29-07:00\"><br \/>\n                              October 29, 2026<br \/>\n                            7:41 AM PDT<\/time><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article__blocks clearfix\">\n<section id=\"cb-7876749868daee026a75c6184515a0af\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261029_6c5e12409fd344a194c999f07a901b24\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/6c\/4by3\/2026\/10\/29\/6c5e12409fd344a194c999f07a901b24_md.jpg\" alt=\"William-Stone-Romberg-thesaltybottle-1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Instagram\/@thesaltybottle<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-eb47819fe2aca33010647f1c4cbfaaab\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>A father of two in Florida died after he swam out to help a seagull he hooked while fishing &#8230; and ended up drowning.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-7fe1bbcc95f0e258c94770d5c23c5441\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p><strong>William &#8220;Stone&#8221; Romberg<\/strong> &#8212; a hospitality manager &#8212; died while fishing down in Panama City Beach on Sunday &#8230; according to a GoFundMe set up for his family.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-a189a08f4e127dd1798c0337e932dd51\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261029_9ed29718ad0444b5839032c872091089\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/9e\/4by3\/2026\/10\/29\/9ed29718ad0444b5839032c872091089_md.jpg\" alt=\"William-Stone-Romberg-gofundme-2\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">GoFundMe<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-67531d915fc437e936e2fcb3e727e904\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>His friend, <strong>Heidi Fortner<\/strong>, says Romberg was fishing at an inlet when his cast caught a seagull. Concerned for the bird, she says he jumped into the water to untangle the animal.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-40eb96677aff5f38364719900fad013d\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Unfortunately, Fortner says the hook and the bird became attached to Romberg&#8217;s hand. He tried to swim to shore &#8230; but the strong current dragged him out, and he drowned.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-f1a4d7a07d1ff238d2920fd749808a24\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Romberg is survived by his wife, <strong>Taylor<\/strong>, and two children &#8230; girls aged 3 and 1. The GoFundMe set up to support them has already raised $116K and counting.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-725d3cdd5d08feaa9e46d35c47fb3cd2\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261029_37c94dc444f649258a878372c65faa4c\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/37\/4by3\/2026\/10\/29\/37c94dc444f649258a878372c65faa4c_md.jpg\" alt=\"William-Stone-Romberg-gofundme-1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">GoFundMe<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-1fc4f5c93f3e01a283196fac2d245825\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>He was 31.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-5952bcce218791c4e1a1c3dc2322aaa4\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>RIP<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<ul class=\"social social--permalink\">\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--facebook js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/29\/florida-dad-drowns-while-trying-to-save-seagull\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;facebook-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--x js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/29\/florida-dad-drowns-while-trying-to-save-seagull\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;twitter-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on X<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"related-articles\">\n<header class=\"card-section-header related-articles__card-section-header\">\n<h3 class=\"card-section-title related-articles__card-section-title\">\n              Related articles<br \/>\n            <\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"row related-articles__row\">\n<div class=\"col related-articles__col\">\n<article class=\"related-articles__card\"><a class=\"related-articles__card-link js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/29\/elke-sommer-dead\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:96462688-2ec3-4fdb-a01b-75e891c96b23\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;related-article&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-img ratio\">\n<div class=\"ratio-item\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/b1\/16by9\/2026\/10\/29\/b170f714577c4f2a94b08bf04e98ea46_xs.jpg\" alt=\"Elke Sommer getty 4\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"img-fluid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-body\">\n<h4 class=\"related-articles__card-title\">\n                        &#8216;Pink Panther&#8217; 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src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/6c\/16by9\/2026\/10\/29\/6c5e12409fd344a194c999f07a901b24_xl.jpg&#8221;] Florida Father Drowns While Trying to Save Seagull Caught In Fishing Line Florida DadDrowns Trying to Save Seagull Add TMZ on Google By TMZ Staff Published October 29, 2026 7:41 AM PDT Instagram\/@thesaltybottle A father of two in Florida died after he swam out to help a seagull he hooked while fishing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-2227440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-tmz-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2227440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2227440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2227440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2227440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}