Body Found Near West Austin Bridge

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A man's body was found floating in the water near the Pennybacker Bridge in the western portion of the city on Wednesday, fire officials said.

According to an Austin Fire Department tweet, the incident occurred downstream of a boat ramp at the site. Fire officials tweeted the news just before 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, saying the victim was dead at the scene. Police later tweeted about the incident, saying it occurred along the 2500 block of North Capital of Texas Highway

No further details were available. Police were not able to provide further details during a Wednesday evening press briefing.

It's hardly the first time emergency officials have been called to the area in the aftermath of an accident. On Nov. 21, 2018, a woman in her 20s had to be rescued after falling from about 20 feet high. The incident occurred just after 4 p.m. near the 360 overlookalong the 5400 block of North Capital of Texas Highway, medics said at the time. Emergency crews rappelled down the vertical surface of the cliff to extract the woman who sustained minor injuries.

That same week, another woman fell 80 feet from a cliff near the Pennybacker Bridge before being rescued. That incident along the 5200 block of North Capital of Texas Highway left the woman in her 30s with injuries that, while serious, were not deemed to be life-threatening.

That same month, a man was killed after the truck he was in plunged into Lake Austin at the Pennybacker Bridge over the Colorado River. Emergency crews responded to an area near the bridge at around 11 p.m. when they found the vehicle submerged in water inside Lake Austin, a reservoir of the Colorado River. The empty truck prompted a frantic and robust search — by land, water and air — for the missing motorist before a man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene.

A popular spot to take photos of the city vista, the privately owned land used to access the 360 overlook lacks railing, warning signs or other safety measures as many visitors have indicated. Those intrepid enough to navigate the path in finding a perch from where to snap pictures often do so at their own peril.

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