Drowned Tourist In Bahamas Identified As Florida Accountant

A tourist who drowned in the Bahamas on Friday has been identified. Jeffrey Alan Bolton, a 47-year-old husband and father from Florida, was the victim of a swimming accident.

The tourist was a resident of Palm Beach Gardens and co-founder of the Daszkal Bolton accounting firm. A company spokesperson confirmed today that Bolton drowned while vacationing with friends on the island of Eleuthera, located east of Nassau.

According to Susan Kaplan, marketing director for the accounting firm, Bolton was swimming in the Bahamas with three friends when the accident occurred.

The tourist reportedly drowned after losing his footing on the reef and getting caught in the strong ocean current.

“He was vacationing and went swimming with a group in what seemed to be a very safe area,” she explained. “Some serious rip currents came along. Unfortunately, Jeff was not a good swimmer. There was nothing that his friends could do.”

Bolton was swept away and tragically drowned in the current. His friends were not injured during the incident and returned to shore safely where they reported the tourist missing.

During the early morning hours on Saturday, Bolton’s body washed ashore and was recovered by officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Jeffrey Bolton was a respected accountant and business owner in the Palm Beach community. Co-founding Daszkal Bolton in 1992, he was known for focusing on entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses.

During his career, Bolton was reportedly named Small Business Leader of the Year by the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and honored as a “Pathfinder” by the American Institute of CPAs.

“He was respected in his profession and built a great business, but as a human being, I don’t know too many people as generous, kind and down-to-earth as Jeff Bolton,” his close friend Harvey Oyer explained to The Palm Beach Post.

In addition to his career and family life, Bolton was an active participant in charitable organizations. He served as corporate chairman of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night Walk” and was director of the Bone Marrow Foundation. Bolton reportedly became involved with both charities during his young son’s battle against leukemia.

Jeffrey Bolton was reportedly celebrating the end of the busy tax season with a tourist trip to the Bahamas when he tragically drowned. The accountant is survived by his wife Mirka, his son Jason, and his daughter Lexi.

[Top image via Shutterstock]