Aaron Michael Miller had just graduated from Central Gwinnett High School, had a girlfriend he adored, and had just arrived at the beach with his family. The fearless 17-year-old was on top of the world.
A talented musician, Miller planned to wait a year before starting college. He’d keep working at Subway before studying finance. On June 13, he would be 18.
But first, there was the ocean. As soon as the Lawrenceville family arrived in two cars Sunday at New Smyrna Beach, Miller was in the water. The long-awaited fun was cut short in an instant as one of his brothers and a friend watched helplessly.
A rip current pulled Miller out. Farther and farther from the shoreline, Miller tried to stay afloat.
"I still see his head pop up every now and again but he's going under water an awful lot," a 911 caller said in an audio recording obtained by The Dayton Beach News-Journal.
By the time a rescue crew arrived minutes later, those on the beach had lost sight of Miller. The teen was a good swimmer though, and his family held out hope he would be quickly found. Dozens joined the search by beach and by air, including local police and firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard. A helicopter whirled above the waves, but there was no sign of Miller.
The next day, Miller’s mother got the phone call. Her son’s body had been found. A tragic end to a trip the Miller family made every year. A beach filled with so many fun memories had become the scene of a nightmare.
Instead of a relaxing vacation, the family is preparing for a funeral to be held Sunday back in Gwinnett County. It doesn’t even seem possible, his family and friends said through Facebook posts.
With his long hair and constant smile, Miller was a friend to many. The day before the beach trip, a stranger stopped Miller’s mom in the grocery store to tell her she should be proud of him. She didn’t need the reminder from the man, who Miller told her was one of his Subway customers.
“Saying that Aaron Miller will be missed is a gross understatement,” Miller’s mother posted online. “Not a day went by since he learned how to talk that he didn’t tell me he loved me. He was an amazing person.”
In addition to playing guitar, piano, drums and violin, Miller loved skateboarding, his family said.
Visitation will be Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. at Wages and Sons Gwinnett Chapel in Lawrenceville. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m.
Miller, a triplet, is survived by brothers Nathan and Evan, a sister, Hannah Jane Miller, and his parents, Michael and Shannon, according to his online obituary. He is also survived by grandparents, Kenneth and Jane Bugg of Loganville; grandmother Elinore Bennett of Brunswick; great-grandmother Virginia Bugg of Decatur; and longtime girlfriend, Kaitlyn Duncan of Lawrenceville.
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