Body Pulled From Lake Travis Is Missing Round Rock Woman

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The body pulled from Lake Travis last week has been positively identified as the Round Rock woman who fell off a party barge in May and never resurfaced, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

Rachel Scott, 25, fell from the top tier of a party barge on May 19, striking her head on the lower tier before sliding into the water, sheriff's officials said. Several passengers on the watercraft dove into the water in attempts to save her, but were unsuccessful, police said.

Dive teams from the Travis County Sheriff's Office, Austin Police Department and even as far as the Houston Police Department searched for missing woman in the days following the incident to no avail. Area dive teams conducted additional searches throughout the summer in the hopes of finding her body, officials said.

On Thursday, Oct. 4, members of the APD’s dive team located the body of a female in the vicinity where Scott was last seen, at a depth of 117 feet. The body was recovered the following day, and was subsequently identified as Scott. Her family released the following statement:

"Our family will be eternally grateful to the dive teams of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the Austin Police Department, along with other supporting agencies, for their unwavering commitment to completing the nearly impossible task of recovering our daughter Rachel Scott. We are so appreciative of their determination and persistence, and we want to thank each and every one of the many dedicated law enforcement personnel who worked tirelessly to find Rachel and bring her home. The incredible outpouring of support and prayers from friends and complete strangers in this community has meant so much and continues to help us as we navigate our way through this very sad time. Rachel was our beautiful and loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, and friend. We ask that you honor Rachel’s memory by continuing her legacy of bringing joy and kindness into the world."

There are still 12 bodies at Lake Travis that have not been recovered since the reservoir first opened as a recreational area, sheriff's spokeswoman Kristen Dark said at a previous press conference.

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