“Was not the outcome we were hoping for but were able to provide closure,” the Buchanan Dam Volunteer Fire Department said.
AUSTIN, Texas — A body was recovered on Sunday morning during the search for a kayaker who went missing on Lake Buchanan.
Tyler Russell has been camping with his family on Lake Buchanan over the Labor Day weekend, but he noticed something was off on Saturday night.
“We started noticing a lot of emergency vehicles were passing by, we were left just kind of wondering what’s going on,” Russell said. “And then later on, we started seeing the boats go on the lake looking for someone, you could see the spotlights and everything.”
Search and rescue operations were launched after the man was reported missing around 8 p.m. on Saturday night. According to the Buchanan Dam Volunteer Fire Department, the man had left about four hours earlier and was headed across the lake to fish at the dam. He was not wearing a life jacket.
Teams searched the southern and western shorelines of the lake from the water, while helicopters and drones were also used for aerial searches of the lake. Operations were suspended at midnight.
The search resumed on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. and focused on the western shoreline, starting at Blackrock Park in Llano County.
A drone helped locate the kayak in flooded brush along the shoreline, approximately 400 yards from the victim’s cabin, Buchanan Dam VFD said. The man was found dead near the kayak around 8 a.m. A volunteer fire chief confirmed that he was 43 years old, but did not disclose his name.
“I knew that if any of my family members were missing, you know, I would have been heartbroken,” Russell said. “So I feel for them, for sure.”
The Buchanan Volunteer Fire Chief believes the man would have survived had he been wearing a life jacket. David Pellizzari, the captain game warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, says everyone who goes out on the water should be wearing one.
“There’s a lot of people that go out there with nothing,” Capt. Pellizzari said.
According to Texas Life Jacket laws, all children under 13 years old must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket. It is also required that adults have a life jacket they can access on board.
“The lifejacket is designed to float you if you’re unconscious, if you run into something or somebody runs into you, it’s designed to keep your head above water,” Pellizzari said.
For Russell, this tragedy serves as a reminder of how unforgiving the water can be.
“It’s one thing that, you know, you go in and it can take you away just like that, just as fast,” Russell said.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of the victim of the recovery today,” the department said in a post on social media. “Was not the outcome we were hoping for but were able to provide closure.”
Pellizzari says if anyone plans on going out on the water, they should be smart about alcohol consumption and have a designated boat driver. It is also important to make a float plan and make sure someone knows where you are going and when you will be back.
Several teams were involved in the search and recovery, including Cassie Volunteer Fire Department, East Lake Buchanan VFD, Hamilton EMS, Texas Game Wardens, LCRA rangers, STAR Flight, the Llano County Sheriff’s Office and the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office.