Travis County Sheriff's Office IDs Missing Boaters

AUSTIN, TX — The Travis County Sheriff's Office on Thursday identified the two boaters who died after falling off a canoe while on an area pond earlier this week.

Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene in Del Valle, Texas, situated on the eastern portion of Travis County at around 8 p.m. amid reports that a man and woman had fallen from a capsized canoe without resurfacing. What began as a rescue effort by multiple emergency agencies turned into a recovery mission after about three hours as officials sought the swimmers' bodies.

By early Tuesday morning, officials disclosed the body of the woman was recovered. The following morning at around 10:30 a.m., officials confirmed the man's body had been found. On Thursday, the drowning victims were identified as Rafael Luna of Veracruz, Mexico, and Eva Cruz-Ramon, 54, of Austin. The man's age was not disclosed in an advisory.

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Although it's unclear what caused the boat to capsize, sheriff's officials in their advisory suggested weather may have played a factor. A powerful story swept over the region on Sunday, vestiges of which lingered by the following day. What's more, such storms tend to change the dynamics of waterways, increasing the current strength as a released of more water volume and increasing the level of debris under the surface that can exacerbate rescue efforts.

"Due to lack of daylight and severe weather, TCSO’s recovery efforts could not be initiated until the next morning," officials wrote in an advisory referring to efforts by the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

Recovery efforts also were exacerbated as the boats normally used for such searches were too large for the small pond where the two people went missing, officials said.

"The dynamics of the pond and the terrain around it made it impossible to use any of TCSO’s[Travis County Sheriff's Office] Lake Patrol boats," officials wrote in their advisory. "They were simply too large. TCSO deployed a small Zodiac boat and Texas Parks & Wildlife assisted with a boat equipped with sonar. TCSO also deployed drones and DPS assisted with helicopter searches. The efforts were suspended at dusk."

An investigation into the cause and manner of death is being conducted by sheriff's office and the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, officials said.