(This story was updated with new information.)
A drowning victim found Sunday at Lake Brownwood after a recovery operation was a 44-year-old man, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said in a statement Monday.
Texas game wardens in Brown County and a Texas state park police officer responded to a call for a missing kayaker Saturday, June 27 near Goat Island at Lake Brownwood, state officials said.
Witnesses told officials that Joshua Jacobs of Brownwood went into the water without a life jacket to retrieve his broken paddle, officials said.
“After a brief struggle, Jacobs went underwater and did not resurface,” TPWD officials said. “At the time of the incident, winds were high and the water was rough.”Around noon Sunday, Jacobs’ body was recovered, officials said. The Brown County Water Improvement District Lake Patrol dive team recovered Jacobs after game wardens located him using side-scan sonar.”Texas Game Wardens encourage everyone on the water to wear a properly fitted life jacket and be prepared for changing weather conditions,” officials said.
Lake Brownwood Lake Patrol officials said in an earlier media release that the search was conducted Saturday well into the evening and resumed early Sunday. The victim’s body was recovered about 12:13 p.m. Sunday.
The lake patrol thanked the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Lake Bridge Volunteer Fire Department, Life Guard EMS, state park police and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, officials said
Lake patrol and TPWD officials expressed their condolences for the drowning victim’s family and friends.
Trish Choate is the executive editor for the Abilene Reporter-News, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@USATodayco.com. Read her recent work here.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: UPDATED Lake Brownwood drowning victim identified
Reporting by Trish Choate, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
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By Trish Choate, Abilene Reporter-News | USA TODAY Network
