We are now learning more about a husband’s heroic efforts to save his wife.
Norman Barnes, 81, tried to save his wife, Beverly Barnes, 81, after she somehow fell off of the couple’s boat during a fishing trip with her husband Tuesday afternoon.
The two were fishing along the Intracoastal just south of Caledesi Island State Park near some thick mangroves when the accident happened.
Investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation are now searching for answers in the case.
While the reason how or why Barnes fell into the water is a mystery, investigators say there’s absolutely no question as to what her husband did in the moments just after.
"The husband heroicly jumped in right after her to try and save her life," said Lt. George Wells, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
They say Barnes, who was married to his wife for years, did much more than try but did everything he could to save his wife.
"We know Mr. Barnes jumped in the water, pulled his wife back to the boat, put her in the boat, called 911, and started performing CPR," said Wells.
Officials say had it not been for the husband's 911 call, they may not have found them so quickly.
"That's a difficult search without an exact location so the GPS was able to give us a better location," said Joelle Castelli of the Clearwater Police Department.
When rescuers arrived on scene, they found Beverely Barnes in cardiac arrest. She was taken to nearby Morton Plant Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
It was a day, just like any other, that turned out to be the couple's last day together.
"(Sad)… It is, especially before the holidays," said Lt. Wells.
Norman Barnes was also taken to Morton Plant and later released.
Investigators have interviewed him and will re-interview him again on Wednesday.
Investigators also canvassed the neighborhood across from where the incident took place searching for surveillance cameras that could help them in their investigation.