Loved ones remember 16-year-old who drowned at Pepper Park Beach

Our Fort Pierce community is grieving after tragic drowning Jonathan Peralta Leon, 16, at Pepper Park Beach.

The heartbreaking incident occurred Sunday evening, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

Morgan Harmon, a lieutenant with Ocean Rescue, expressed the severity of the conditions on the beach: “It’s extremely dangerous right now. We have been in these conditions for about two weeks now.”

Jonathan’s sister, Joanna, shared her grief with WPTV, saying: “It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to you, my little brother. May you be at peace. I hope to see you again in another life. This world will not be the same without you.”

The mother of one of Jonathan’s friends remembered him fondly, saying: “He was a very respectful young man. He would call me “Old Lady” and then laugh and say, “I love you.”

At Pepper Park Beach, where red flags are currently flying, Harmon noted, “Green flag days are few and far between.”

Although the beach is usually guarded until 5 p.m., deputies said Peralta Leon drowned around 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

“It’s been about an hour since we finished duty. Some of us were still in the area, so we went back to see if we could do anything,” Harmon said.

Unfortunately, the only people he encountered were two of Jonathan’s friends, who managed to get out safely.

“The people in trouble were a little shaken up, but basically everyone was just checking to make sure there was no one in the water,” Harmon said.

As the community grieves, loved ones have taken to social media to share photos and heartfelt messages in honor of Jonathan, a young man hailed as a remarkable man who was taken too soon.

In Jonathan’s memory, his family also founded GoFundMe page.

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