Recovery Efforts For 2 Bodies Prompts Lake Safety Event Change

AUSTIN, TX — Two drownings this month for which bodies have yet to be recovered has prompted cancellation of a media event staged by the sheriff's office that, ironically, was designed to promote water safety.

Reporters had been invited to ride along with Travis County Sheriff's Office deputies on patrol boats on Lake Travis on Tuesday — days ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend popular with swimmers and boaters — to showcase the tactics of water safety. But early Monday afternoon, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said the event had been canceled as a result of ongoing recovery efforts to find the bodies of two drowning victims.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recovery team members continue to scour Lake Travis after a woman in her mid-20s fell into the water from a party barge on Saturday and never resurfaced. The woman is said to have fallen from the top deck of the water craft and may have hit her head on the way down. Travis County Sheriff's Office deputies are assisting in the search, the spokeswoman told Patch. The incident occurred near Volente Beach along the 16000 block of Dodd Street at around 7 p.m. About an hour later, the search turned into a recovery mode given the length of time since the woman disappeared under the water's surface.

It's the second drowning in Lake Travis in just over two weeks. On Saturday, May 5, a man went underwater and never resurfaced, prompting a number of emergency agencies' rescue teams to arrive and help search for him. Despite such robust rescue efforts, the man's body has yet to be found. The man later was identified by family members as Manuel Salas, 53, of Elgin, Texas.

"TCSO will no longer be able to offer media the opportunity to capture b-roll of the lake from patrol boats tomorrow due to the fact that we are involved in recovery operations," sheriff's office spokeswoman Kristen Dark wrote in a press advisory. "The press conference will still take place, and all topics will be addressed. In addition, we will update our recovery efforts."

The May 22 press conference detailing Memorial Day weekend operations and safety information is scheduled to take place at Mansfield Dam Park, 4370 Mansfield Dam Rd., at 9 a.m.

"In an effort to reduce the number of vehicle crashes and intoxicated drivers on the water and on roadways during Memorial Day weekend, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Bee Cave Police Department, Lakeway Police Department, Jonestown Police Department, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are working together as a joint task force," the sheriff's office said in a prepared statement ahead of the press conference. The initiative will run from May 25 - 28, officials said.

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