Officials recovered the body of a 39-year-old man who had gone missing while kayaking on Benbrook Lake.
Officials recovered the body of a 39-year-old man who had gone missing while kayaking on Benbrook Lake.
Officials recovered the body of a 39-year-old man who had gone missing while kayaking on Benbrook Lake.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A dive team Sunday recovered the body of a man who disappeared when his kayak capsized on Benbrook Lake.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Benbrook Fire Department, Cresson Fire Department and Texas Game Wardens responded to the lake around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29. Witnesses told officials the kayak flipped, and the kayaker did not resurface, a news release states.
Authorities discontinued the search Saturday night and resumed Sunday morning. Divers pulled the body up around 2 p.m.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner identified the victim as 39-year-old Robert Jones.
Just ten days ago, an 18-year-old drowned while kayaking on Benbrook Lake. The man disappeared after an incident caused him and two others aboard the vessel to fall in.
Neither the 18-year-old nor Jones were wearing life jackets, park host John White said.
“We have a saying here at the park: ‘Life jacket worn, nobody mourns,'” White told WFAA. “That is so true.”
Though temperatures have reached the mid-80s, Benbrook Lake water remains frigid. White said people who unexpectedly fall into the lake tend to gasp in shock.
“When that happens, they suck in a mouthful of water,” he added. “That’s history.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers loans life jackets for free at Benbrook Lake and its other DFW-area parks.
“When you’re in the water, anything can happen,” White said. “You can cramp up, and that’s all it takes. You start cramping, you’re going down… If you come out to the lake, wear a life jacket – especially if you’re on watercraft.”
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