huntington beach.jpg

The 43-year-old Medina man who died trying to save a teenager at Huntington Beach Saturday was a devoted husband and father of four, and owned his own business, neighbors said.

(Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer)

MEDINA, Ohio -- Neighbors and social media posts show the Medina man who drowned after pulling a young girl out of the waves at Huntington Beach Saturday was a devoted father of four and a small-business owner.

For 15 years, Peter and Michelle Radke led a quiet, middle-class life in a Medina development that was much the same.

American flags, hung diagonally from front porch banisters, waved in a gentle spring breeze as neighbors trimmed their lawns and weeded their flowerbeds Sunday morning. Front doors hung open as giggling children raced remote-controlled cars in front of two-car garages.

The couple bought their two-story home in 1999, and since have filled it with four children - two girls and two boys - and a business.

Pete Radke, 43, had established his career in internet marketing and IT work. In 2000, he founded his own company, Rocks Tech LLC, that he ran out of his home, and he continued working his way up in small tech companies, eventually becoming general manager and vice president of a small Medina-based internet-marketing company. Most recently he was an interactive media specialist at a mid-sized Akron company, according to his LinkedIn page.

His Facebook and Twitter accounts depict a business-oriented man who enjoyed nature, running and spending time with his family. Pictures show the Radkes making silly faces at a hayride, smiling warmly in a picturesque family photograph on their couch and bundled up searching for a Christmas tree.

Pete Radke also was devoted to helping others. In a 2012 Facebook post, he said he helped a man set up an internet cafe in a west African village in the 2000s, which the man used to teach people how to use computers and the internet.

Radke's family declined to comment for this article.

Neighbors said they had few interactions with the family. One couple light-heartedly remembered when Pete Radke's mother backed into a car they had been selling, and said Michelle Radke once came across the street in a panic looking for her son, when he fell asleep playing in a closet.

"They were great neighbors," said another neighbor, who said the Radkes' teenage daughters often babysat his young children. "Pete died a hero."

That heroic act came Saturday evening at Huntington Beach in Bay Village, when the family was celebrating the birthday of one of their teenage daughters, neighbors said.

About 5:50 p.m., a group of people noticed a girl struggling in the waves, and dove into the water.

Witnesses said Radke carried the girl toward the shore out of harm's way, and then was sucked into deeper water. Other members of the group pulled her the rest of the way to the shore, but Radke disappeared.

A full search and rescue with 11 agencies launched just after 6 p.m., and Radke's body was found about three hours later, according to a Cleveland Metroparks spokeswoman.

The girl was taken to a nearby hospital. Her condition was not available Sunday.

The family released this statement to several media outlets Sunday:

Words cannot express the profound sorrow we feel over the death of our beloved Pete. He was dedicated to serving God and anyone in need. While we never expected to lose him so soon, we take comfort in knowing Pete's final moments were spent saving the life of another. Peter Todd Radke, devoted husband and father of four, would have had it no other way.

In a statement released Sunday, the Metroparks expressed condolences to the Radke family, and said Rangers are still investigating to determine exactly what happened.

"Huntington Beach has long been a destination for families to gather in our community and nothing is more important to us than the safety of our visitors," the statement said.