Lighting Store Showroom Near Litchfield Beach, SC

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At 7:35 p.m. on Sunday, the NWS Wilmington NC released an updated rip current statement in effect until 8 p.m. for Myrtle Beach area.

The NWS states, "Dangerous rip currents expected."

"Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water," explains the NWS. "Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don't swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help."

This statement is in effect until 8 p.m.

Rip currents are channelized currents of water flowing away from shore at surf beaches. The speeds can vary from moment to moment and can quickly increase to become dangerous to anyone entering the surf. Rip currents can sweep even the strongest swimmer away from shore. Trying to swim against a rip current will only use up your energy; the energy you need to survive and escape the rip current. If you get caught in a rip current, try to stay calm and follow the below advice from the NWS:

Stay calm - they won't drag you under:

Your first rule of thumb: Keep a clear head. Rip currents won't pull you beneath the water's surface. Panic is your enemy; it depletes precious energy needed for your survival.

Go with the flow, but not toward the beach:

Don't swim towards the beach against the rip current. Instead, swim parallel to the beach and out of the rip current.

Signal for help if necessary:

If you feel you can't reach shore, relax, face the shore, and call or wave for help.

Seek lifeguarded beaches:

If at all possible, only swim at beaches with lifeguards.

Never brave the waves alone on unguarded shores:

If you choose to swim at beaches without lifeguards, make it a rule never to swim solo. Always bring a friend, and ensure that person has a cell phone to call 911 in case of an emergency.

With these insights into rip currents and how to react, you can enhance your safety when enjoying the beach. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and prioritize your well-being while relishing the surf.

Source: The National Weather Service

MYRTLE BEACH — Does one man's dream home look too much like another beachfront house in the city?

A construction company contends it does and is suing the Myrtle Beach homeowner in federal court. The case could go to trial in the coming months.

The dispute centers on Nations Homes' accusations that a former client, Peter Brady, took its copyrighted designs to a different company and built a nearly identical home, according to court documents. The builder alleges the doppelganger dwelling looks like the house of Nations Homes President Jeff Skelley. Both houses are on North Ocean Boulevard.

"The structure is virtually identical to the home Nations designed for Brady with many of the Skelley house features Nations incorporated into the Brady plan," according to the company's complaint, which was filed in October. "In addition, the color scheme on the (house's exterior) appears to be the same as the Skelley home."

Brady has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. According to his court filings, Brady started building his home five months before Nations registered its copyrights and never received any of the copyrighted work.

"Peter Brady had a dream to build his forever home and retirement residence for himself and his wife here in Myrtle Beach. He twice sought the assistance of Nations Homes to build that forever home for him. Nations Homes failed him both times," Brady's attorney, Reese Boyd, wrote in a prepared statement.

Boyd added, "Mr. Brady wanted nothing more than to be a good and satisfied, paying customer of Nations Homes. Nations Homes, in addition to failing to build Mr. Brady's home, has now sued him because he asked another company to build the home. ... We look forward to clearing his name in court."

An attorney for Nations Homes could not be reached for comment.

Nations' history with Brady started in 2019 when he asked the company to design and build a home for him in the Carolina Forest area just outside the city, according to court filings. Brady ultimately canceled that contract, attributing it to the company's allegedly poor communication during the design process, his court filings stated.

Three years later, Brady contacted Nations again about designing and building a house along North Ocean Boulevard. The company alleges Brady wanted this house to look like Skelley's, which is less than 10 minutes from where Brady chose to build.

Nations alleges Brady toured Skelley's home and worked with company architects to create a custom design, which included copyrighted architectural work and technical drawings.

"Brady was expressly informed that any new design would not be a duplicate of the Skelley home and could not use the same exterior color scheme," Nations Homes alleges in court filings. "Skelley agreed to provide Brady with a set of plans for the Skelley home as a basis for design, requesting that Brady review the plans and create a list of wants and needs for a home prior to meeting with the Nations Homes architect."

But Brady alleges he never received any completed drawings or copyrighted work from the company.

Brady contends he ultimately canceled the contract because the parties could not agree on a price, but he asked Nations if he could purchase the work that the company had done for him. He maintains the company never told him he couldn't use the work, while the company asserts the opposite is true.

Brady has subsequently filed a third-party complaint against Fastline Design, the Conway-based company he ultimately chose to design his home. If Nations' copyright was infringed upon, Brady alleges Fastline Design should be held responsible, according to his legal filings.

Fastline Design has denied wrongdoing in court documents.

The case is expected to go to trial by February unless a settlement is reached, per court records.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/WMBF) - The owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, who appeared in the Netflix series “Tiger King,” has learned how long he will spend in prison in a federal animal trafficking case.

A federal judge sentenced Doc Antle to a term of 12 months and one day on charges of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and conspiracy to launder money.

Antle, who was featured in the Netflix series, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and conspiracy to launder money.

The Lacey Act prohibits trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish or plants, including animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The sentencing was originally set for June 10, but both parties filed a motion stating that they needed more time to resolve several objections to the presentencing report. Attorneys also required extra time to talk to potential witnesses, who are out of state.

Antle is the owner and operator of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, which is also known as the Myrtle Beach Safari. He is also the director of the Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit organization based in South Carolina, WMBF-TV reported.

Court documents show in September 2018 he paid a person to travel to Florida and pay about $35,000 for two young cheetahs.

Then in January 2019, Antle sold two lion cubs to an organization in exchange for $15,000, according to the documents.

He’s also made $10,000 in payments to the Rare Species Fund in exchange for two tigers that were transported from South Carolina to Montana in March 2019.

Court documents added that in May 2020, a young chimpanzee was transported from Florida to Myrtle Beach Safari, where Antle paid $200,000 in cash and checks for the chimpanzee.

All the animals involved are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Antle then used bulk cash payments to hide the transactions and falsified paperwork to show non-commercial transfers entirely within one state, court documents stated. He also requested that payments for endangered species be made to his nonprofit so they could appear as “donations.”

The investigation also uncovered evidence of money laundering between Feb. and April 2022, when Antle and his co-conspirator conducted financial transactions with cash they believed was obtained from transporting and harboring undocumented immigrants.

To conceal and disguise the nature of the illegal cash, Antle would take it and deposit the cash into bank accounts they controlled. Antle and his co-conspirator would then write a check to the person who provided them the cash after taking a 15% fee per transaction, investigators said.

For each count, Antle faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

Copyright 2025 WCSC/WMBF. All rights reserved.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, who was featured in a popular Netflix series, will spend a year in federal prison.

A judge in Charleston sentenced Doc Antle to one year and one day in federal prison for conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish or plants, including animals protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Antle, who was featured in the Netflix series Tiger King, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to those charges.

Antle was also ordered to pay a $55,000 fine, serve three years of supervised release and forfeit three chimpanzees and more than $197,000 to the government.

“Doc Antle portrayed himself as a conservationist. But in reality, he was a key player in the illegal chimpanzee trade, and he laundered more than half a million dollars through a complex web of deceit,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their work in bringing the defendant to justice for both of these federal crimes.”

This sentence is in addition to Antle’s Virginia state court convictions that resulted in a $10,000 fine, a two-year suspended sentence, five years of probation, and a five-year ban on working with, trading, possessing, or engaging in other activities with non-native exotic wildlife in Virginia.

PETA attended the sentencing on Monday and issued the following statement afterward.

Antle is the owner and operator of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), also known as the Myrtle Beach Safari. He is also the director of the Rare Species Fund, a nonprofit organization based in South Carolina.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

Court documents show in September 2018, he paid a person to travel to Florida and pay about $35,000 for two young cheetahs.

Then in January 2019, Antle sold two lion cubs to an organization in exchange for $15,000, according to the documents.

He’s also made $10,000 in payments to the Rare Species Fund in exchange for two tigers that were transported from South Carolina to Montana in March 2019.

The court documents added that in May 2020, a young chimpanzee was transported from Florida to Myrtle Beach Safari, where Antle paid $200,000 in cash and checks for the chimpanzee.

All of the animals involved are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Antle then used bulk cash payments to hide the transactions and falsified paperwork to show non-commercial transfers entirely within one state.

He also requested that payments for endangered species be made to his nonprofit so they could appear as “donations.”

The investigation also uncovered evidence of money laundering between Feb. and April 2022, when Antle and his co-conspirator conducted financial transactions with cash they believed was obtained from transporting and harboring undocumented immigrants.

To conceal and disguise the nature of the illegal cash, Antle would take it and deposit the cash into bank accounts they controlled. Antle and his co-conspirator would then write a check to the person who provided them the cash after taking a 15% fee per transaction.

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Copyright 2025 WMBF. All rights reserved.

Two restaurants temporarily closed in the latest round of South Carolina Department of Agriculture health and safety inspections around the Myrtle Beach area.

In general, SCDA gives restaurants scoring between 88 and 100 points A grades, restaurants scoring 78-87 points B grades and restaurants scoring 77 points or fewer C grades.

However, the department sometimes lowers grades for restaurants that have consecutive violations, are under enforcement action or are under pending enforcement actions, including imminent health hazards, permit suspensions or permit revocations.

Of the 236 restaurant inspections conducted in Horry and Georgetown County between June 21 and July 3, SCDA gave 15 restaurants B grades and two restaurants C grades. However, only eight of those establishments actually scored below 88 points. Here’s what inspectors found.

Damon’s Oceanfront Grill

2985 S. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Score: 76

A routine inspection of Damon’s Oceanfront Grill on July 2 found several violations, including flies around the kitchen that landed on salads, uncooked chicken stored on a rack dripping onto cooked chicken wings and foods like raw meat and crab soup stored at insufficiently cold temperatures.

The inspector observed cases of food stored on the walk-in freezer floor, improperly thawed fish, a refrigerator that wasn’t cold enough, spray chemicals and open beverages “not stored in a manner to prevent contamination,” and equipment in poor condition. Hood filters were missing, pliers were used on a slicer missing a handle and a sheet pan was used to hold up the leg of a bread warmer. A follow-up inspection is to be conducted on or before July 12.

4036 River Oaks Drive, Unit 9, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579

Score: 78

At a routine inspection of Sushi King on June 25, the person in charge wasn’t certified to handle food, raw meat and seafood were stored at insufficiently cold temperatures, eel was held at an insufficiently warm temperature, sushi rice wasn’t marked with dates for safe consumption and frozen fish was thawed in vacuum-sealed packaging, which is a risk for botulism.

The inspector observed food stored on the walk-in freezer floor, soiled wiping cloths stored on prep surfaces instead of sanitizer buckets, dust and buildup on hood filters and a leaking sink. In a follow-up inspection on July 1, Sushi King scored 98 points.

5023 Dick Pond Road, Unit 7, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

Score: 78

A routine inspection of Soberano Meat Market on June 24 found raw meat stored over ready-to-eat foods, blood from meat puddled on a plastic cover of sausage casing, ready-to-eat foods without marked dates to ensure safe consumption and air gaps around a door, which SCDA considers a risk for pests.

According to the inspection report, there was no certified food handler present, meat and potatoes were held at insufficiently hot temperatures, beef and pork were stored at insufficiently cold temperatures and the facility added equipment and menu items without SCDA approval. In a follow-up inspection on June 2, Soberano scored 98 points.

2144 Oakheart Road, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579

Score: 78

At a routine inspection of King Kong Sushi on June 26, there were flies throughout the kitchen and the screen door wasn’t tightly fitted, which SCDA considers a risk for pests. The person in charge wasn’t certified to handle food, an employee handled tempura shrimp with a bare hand and tempura shrimp wasn’t marked with discard dates for safe consumption.

According to the inspection report, the facility couldn’t provide records of how parasites in fish were destroyed, soiled wiping cloths were stored on prep surfaces instead of sanitizer buckets, cups without handles were used to scoop food and there was buildup on kitchen shelving. In a subsequent inspection on June 1, King Kong Sushi scored 96 points.

Hippie Hen House

2144 Oakheart Road, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579

Score: 82

After SCDA inspected Hippie Hen House in response to a complaint, the restaurant temporarily closed due to inadequate refrigeration. The refrigerators’ ambient temperatures were too high and foods like crab, raw chicken and cheese weren’t sufficiently cold.

The inspection report also notes ready-to-eat ribs were held at an insufficiently hot temperature and there was debris and dust in the air vents. However, in a follow-up inspection the next day, Hippie Hen House got a perfect score.

Paisano of Surfside

720 Highway 17 Business N., Surfside Beach, SC 29575

Score: 83

At a routine inspection of Paisano in Surfside Beach on June 23, the inspector observed curdled milk, “brown watery” lettuce, fruit flies in salad prep and raw chicken and shell eggs stored over produce and ready-to-eat foods.

According to the inspection report, trash bags behind the facility had maggots and weren’t regularly taken to the dumpster and there was a heavy accumulation of food debris and residue buildup in small ovens, inside equipment, on carts, on walls and in a sink. In a follow-up inspection on July 3, Paisano scored 92 points, though the inspector noted dead flies in a reach-in cooler.

Dagwoods Deli and Sports Bar

600 N. Kings Highway, Surfside Beach, SC 29575

Score: 83

The Surfside Beach Dagwoods location voluntarily closed due to insufficient refrigeration after a routine inspection on June 2. The refrigerators weren’t cold enough, some lacked thermometers and foods like deli meat, chicken salad and egg rolls weren’t sufficiently cold.

The inspector also observed a “heavy presence of flies throughout the kitchen,” inadequately reheated chili, improperly cooled chicken wings and no sanitizer in the dishwasher. However, in a follow-up inspection the next day, Dagwoods earned a perfect score.

Circle K Store #0479

1009 3rd Ave. S., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Score: 85

In response to a complaint, SCDA inspected the Circle K Store on 3rd Avenue South around downtown Myrtle Beach on June 27. The inspector observed rodent droppings in the back storage room, food stored below motor oil, ready-to-eat pizza without discard times marked for safe consumption and debris and buildup throughout the facility.

The inspection report also notes the person in charge wasn’t certified to handle food and sinks lacked hot water and soap. A follow-up inspection was to be conducted on or before July 7, but no subsequent report is available yet.