3 Texas Boy Scouts Electrocuted In Sailboat Accident

HALLSVILLE, TX — Three Texas Boy Scouts were electrocuted in a deadly sailing outing during a troop camp-out at an east Texas lake Saturday. The 30-foot mast of their catamaran sailboat struck a power line as the vessel glided beneath, shocking all three of the Scouts on board, authorities said.

Will Brannon, 17, the son of Hallsville Troop 620 Scoutmaster Stan Brannon, and Heath Faucheux, 16, whose father, Dion, is the troop’s assistant scoutmaster, were both dead at the scene. A third Scout, 11-year-old Thomas Larry, died Monday at a hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, according to reports.

Folks around the eastern Texas town of Hallsville have known the victims since they were Cub Scouts and have watched them grow up. The two older boys had reached the rank of Eagle Scout.

“You’re talking about great young men, men of integrity,” Sherri Morgan, the director of the high school band, said at an impromptu gathering to mourn the fallen Boy Scouts, the Longview News-Journal reported. “We’re heartbroken, we’re devastated.”

Cub Scout Troop 201 Scoutmaster Doug Wiley said the loss will be felt in the community of Hallsville for years to come, the Associated Press reported.

“These were good kids, they were all Class A kids, top-notch future leaders of our country,” Wiley said.

The two Eagle Scouts were mentoring the younger scout on how to sail when tragedy struck about 2 p.m. Saturday in an alcove of Lake O’ The Pines that is known as Alley Creek.

One of the Eagle Scouts was on board the burning catamaran when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens arrived, according to a news release. The other Eagle Scout was in the water, along with the 11-year-old, who was resuscitated by Good Samaritans and rushed to Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport.

“This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family,” the statement said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. We will support them in any way that we can.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the accident was a “terrible tragedy” and said his “thoughts and prayers go out to the Boy Scouts and their families.”

Screenshot via Associated Press video