NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- An 11-year-old girl was found safe on the beach Friday afternoon after her mother feared she had gone into the water even though she didn't know how to swim, Volusia County Beach Patrol officials said.
Lifeguards and Beach Patrol officers, however, on heightened alert didn't see any signs of a swimmer struggling and the child was found a short time later.
The beach was packed with swimmers for with local schools on Spring Break and traffic was snarled on both bridges for several hours late Friday, especialy the South Causeway Bridge, from the Flagler Avenue Beach approach onto nearby beachside roads and heading west over the South Causeway, all the way to the business corridor on State Road 44 near the NSB Regional Shopping Center and the bevy of fast-food restaurants.