Body Pulled From Water At South Austin Barton Creek Greenbelt

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — A body was pulled from from the water in the Barton Creek greenbelt near Twin Falls in South Austin Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The possible drowning victim reportedly was discovered by a visitor who was snorkeling at the site before police were called to the scene. The main trailhead to the greenbelt was closed for some time to accommodate recovery efforts but has since been reopened.

In a tweet, Austin police said recovery efforts were frustrated due to rough terrain. Officials noted the death does not appear to be suspicious, furthering the theory the deceased died from drowning.

The site of grim discovery is near MoPac Boulevard and Loop 360 in the southwest portion of the city. The popular recreation area was crowded as usual on a weekend, but more so given the Mothers Day observance.

No further details have been given. Patch will update as more information is made available.

Ahead of the peak summer swimming and boating season, local officials already have seen an uptick in water emergencies in recent days. On Saturday, medics were dispatched to McKinney Fallsin Southeast Austin to rescue a teenage boy in distress. The victim was pulled from the water at 5808 McKinney Falls Parkway before being transported by STAR Flight in critical condition.

And on May 5, a swimmer identified by family members as Manuel Salas, 53, of Elgin, Texas, never resurfaced after diving into Lake Travis. His body has yet to be found despite robust recovery efforts by emergency officials.

It's yet unclear if debris accumulated and changed water dynamics after powerful thunderstorms on May 4 has played a part in the recent drownings and near-drowning. Officials sometimes warn swimmers to avoid bodies of water or at least exercise caution after powerful storms like the one that descended upon the area just nine days ago.

The reason for the warnings is that after such rainfall, the levels of area bodies of water tend to rise exponentially unbeknownst to swimmers until they get into the water. The sub-surface terrain also is made more treacherous after strong rains with tree limbs and other debris accumulated inside lakes, ponds and reservoirs not visible from the water's surface.

These changed, post-storm dynamics are dramatically illustrated at a portion of the trail system along Shoal Creek in North Austin, now closed indefinitely after sustaining "massive slope failure and resulting trail damage," after the recent powerful storms, officials said. Trails there are still closed to access due to the storm-induced damage centered largely on the area just south of a makeshift off-leash section at 2631 Shoal Creek Boulevard extending roughly 300 feet to the south along the west side of the creek, according to parks officials.

"The trail in this area is no longer passable," officials said in previous advisory. "To detour around the damaged area, you can use the rock hop 'bridge' in the creek just north of 24th Street to detour to the Lamar Boulevard sidewalk."

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