JASPER COUNTY, Texas – Emergency personnel recovered the body of a 57-year-old man from Lake Sam Rayburn on Sunday morning following a three-day search after he went missing while swimming with his wife, local authorities said.
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Body recovered from Lake Sam Rayburn
What we know:
The body of Leopoldo Pantoja was recovered around 7:30 a.m. by a member of the Lake Rayburn Volunteer Fire Department.
The search began Thursday afternoon around 2:15 p.m. when dispatchers received a 911 call regarding a woman rescued from the water near Twin Dikes. The woman told deputies that a civilian on a jet ski rescued her after she and Pantoja became stranded in the lake several hundred yards from an island.
According to officials, the couple had jumped into the water to cool off, but their boat drifted away while they were swimming. Pantoja attempted to swim after the vessel but went under and did not resurface. Rescuers later recovered the drifting boat nearby.
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The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office led an extensive multi-agency effort alongside Texas Game Wardens, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas EquuSearch, Texas DPS aircraft, and local fire departments before Pantoja was found.
What they’re saying:
“This is never the outcome we hope for, and our hearts are with his family as they face this unimaginable loss,” Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard said in a statement, thanking the various agencies and volunteers who assisted in the search.
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