Floating Body Pulled From Lake Travis

AUSTIN, TX — A body was recovered at Lake Travis on Tuesday, but it's unclear if it is that of a man who went missing on Sunday while swimming with friends.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office issued a press advisory Tuesday morning updating on their efforts to locate a man who presumably drowned on Sunday at Lake Travis — the latest in a growing list of people who have drowned there in recent weeks. Shortly after that press advisory was issued, a body found floating on the lake's surface was pulled from the water at around 10:30 a.m. near Windy Points Park.

But the sheriff's office wasn't prepared to confirm whether the body was that of the missing man when contacted by Patch: "A body was found at Bob Wentz Park today," TCSO spokeswoman Kristen Dark confirmed via email. "I have not confirmed it as the missing man. I’m waiting for ME [medical examiner] confirmation and notification of next of kin."

The unidentified missing man, described only as a man in his 20s, was with friends at Bob Wentz Park on Sunday (June 10) when he was last seen resting on a small island to where he had swum, witnesses told the Travis County Sheriff's Office. Some 30 to 45 minutes later, the man's friends didn't see the man on the sandbar. He hasn't been seen since.

An exhaustive search of the park was conducted after the man was reported missing. Travis County Park Rangers and TCSO Deputies searched the shoreline and the park, using public address speakers to call out to the man, the sheriff's office said in a press advisory. TCSO Lake Patrol searched the water, assisted by Jonestown Police Department, and a Texas Department of Public Safety fixed-wing aircraft conducted an aerial search as well. Search efforts were suspended at sundown, officials added.

A TCSO dive team assembled on Monday at 7 to join the search, officials said. Moreover, officials on an Austin Police Air 1 Helicopter conducted aerial searches and TCSO Lake Patrol Deputies conducted sonar searches in the water surrounding the park and the island, officials added. Despite such robust search efforts, the man was not located.

As a result of the futile search, TCSO detectives opened an investigation and are exploring any additional leads that might indicate the whereabouts of the missing man. Search efforts will continue on Lake Travis as deputies expand the search area to include the water around Sometimes Island, officials said.

Given the considerable depths at the lake and its massive size, some recently drowned visitors have yet to be found inside the water: Manuel Salas, 53 of Elgin was reported missing on May 5 in an area of Lake Travis near Mansfield Dam Park, and Rachel Kathleen Scott, 25, of Round Rock was reported missing between Starnes Island and Volente Beach on May 19, 2018. Both are still missing.

Diego Humberto Cerda-Acosta, 30, of Austin was reported missing in the water near Bob Wentz Park on May 27, 2018. His body was recovered the next morning.

Related story: Agonizing Wait For Wife Of Boater Claimed By Lake Travis

Those cases referenced in the TCSO press advisory are just some of the most recent drownings. Last year, there were others, including:

• In June 2016, the body of a man in his 30s was pulled from Lake Travis after he went missing in the Little Devils Hollow portion of the lake. The county sheriff's office had received calls about a body that was seen floating on the lake before retrieving the corpse at the Emerald Point Marinaportion of the lake.
• In July 2016, a 2-year-old girl drowned after falling off a dock into Lake Travison a Saturday evening. When Travis County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the scene, they the child fell off a boat dock at a private residence in the 8000 block of Lakeview St.
• In August 2016, the family of Olman Ramirez took it upon themselves not to give up the search for their loved one who went missing at Lake Travis, ultimately finding his body at south marina shore. The man was reported missing early evening after he jumped into the lake to help a friend who fell from the party boat in which they were traveling on the lake's surface. Family members found the body four days later. A Travis County officials told Patch at the time that stronger-than-normal winds ahead of a line of thunderstorms may have contributed to the drowning, given its effect on the currents.
• On Jan. 19, 2017, Cody Quincy May, 31, of West Haven, Conn., drowned after trying to join his children on a raft, according to Travis County Sheriff's Office officials. Witnesses told police several of May's children were playing on a raft near the shoreline when May began walking out to the raft and suddenly stepped into deep water. He immediately began to struggle while calling for help. A nearby fisherman tried to go to his aid, but arrived too late to save him. May had moved his family to Austin just a week before his death.
• In May 2017, the body of a 21-year-old man was pulled from Lake Travis. The man had been cliff diving after arriving at the site on a party barge filled with friends.
• In June 2017, Travis County Sheriff's Office officials identified Brian Robinson, 31, of White Plains, N.Y., as the victim of a June 11 drowning. Like Olman, Robinson had been on a party barge before falling into the water. Just the day before, Lower Colorado River Authority officials had re-opened Lake Travis after shutting down access on June 6 due to altered flood-related conditions that made it too dangerous for recreational use. Water levels by then began receding after earlier heavy downpours, and stood at a level of just over 690 feet, officials said at the time.
• In May 2017, Tai Le, 21, of Garland, Texas, was celebrating with friends on a party barge when the group decided to go cliff diving. Le never resurfaced after his last dive, and his body was later pulled out of the water.

Given such incidents, sheriff officials urged Lake Travis visitors to take precautions: "TCSO implores swimmers and boaters on Lake Travis to wear their life jackets. When seconds count in the unpredictable depths of the lake, life jackets save lives."

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