Retired police officer dies trying to save turtle off Virginia coast, officials say
A boat captain and former police officer died trying to help a turtle off the Virginia coast last week, officials say.
William Parker Jenkins Jr., 53, was operating a charter fishing boat about two miles offshore of Virginia Beach around noon Thursday when he saw a sea turtle that seemed to be tangled in a rope, according to a news release from the Virginia Beach Police Department. Jenkins jumped in to try to free the reptile, police said.
Other people on the boat saw Jenkins struggling in the water, so they called 911 and jumped in to help, police say.
The police department’s Marine Patrol Units responded and pulled Jenkins onto their boat and performed CPR.
Jenkins was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Jenkins was a retired police officer with the Virginia Beach Police Department, media outlets report.
He was an oceanfront patrolman from 2002-2011 and known for his “larger-than-life personality,” WAVY reported.
“He was considered a gentle giant — he was a big man — not only in body but in spirit and in heart,” Linda Kuehn, a spokesperson for the police department, told the TV station.
Jenkins was also well known in the local fishing community, according to media reports.
He ran fishing charters and his own business, Captain’s Choice Seafood, WVEC reported.
Staff and captains at Virginia Beach Fishing Center were stunned by the news about Jenkins, known as “Captain Bill,” WAVY reported.
Jacob Walters, a dock hand, told the TV station Jenkins was his favorite captain.
“Every time we helped him tie him up, he’d throw us a couple of bucks. Really great guy,” Walters said.
Jenkins is survived by his wife, two children, three stepchildren and two grand-stepchildren, according to the website LeeTolliverOutdoors.com.
Police say they are working with the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate the incident.
“Never had a bad word to say about anybody. Well respected in the community,” John Askew, who knew Jenkins for about six years, told WVEC on Friday. “What he did yesterday, diving in to save a turtle with netting around it … that was Bill. He was always there to help.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Retired police officer dies trying to save turtle off Virginia coast, officials say."
