MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – A Conroe man is dead after diving off a dock into 6 feet of water in Lake Conroe.
Authorities said the man drowned in the water at the FM 830 boat ramp -- a public boat ramp on the eastern side of Lake Conroe in Willis.
Deputy constables with Precinct 1 in Montgomery County told Channel 2 that around 5:30 p.m., 911 operators took a call. The caller was a female who reported a man had gone under just a few minutes earlier and had not resurfaced.
Fire boat 94, along with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Lake Patrol, responded.
They said within minutes after arriving, the fire boat spotted what appeared to be the victim on sonar.
Divers went in the water, and after just over an hour they located the man’s body.
According to witnesses, the man was with two friends and dove off the end of the dock into about 6 feet of water.
He came up for a moment and then went back down.
"Lake Conroe is what's called a zero-visibility lake, a black lake. You can't see once you go under. You certainly can't see from a dock looking down, past a foot or so. You can't see the bottom," Lt. Tim Cade said. "I wouldn't dive off of a dock into a lake where I can't see the bottom anyway. I wouldn't dive off anything into a body of water if I cannot see the bottom. It's just not a good idea."
"This lake's a nightmare, to be honest with you. I normally try to stay out here from daylight to daylight. I don't try to stay past right now. It's one of those deals," Bailey Hinkle said. "When I heard about the situation, I mean, I hate to say it, but I wasn't surprised just because of the amount of people that come out here and do the things that they do."
Deputies have not released the name of the victim, but say he was a 43-year-old Conroe resident.
They said they don't expect foul play, but will run tests to see if alcohol or any other substance played a role in his death.
