SPRING BRANCH, Texas – Houston police and Houston firefighters have located the body of a 24-year-old man who is believed to have drowned in a small lake in Spring Branch Thursday.
Emergency crews were out on boats in the lake near the the Spring Lake Apartments in the 2200 block of Hollister and Emnora. A dive team also assisted in the search.
Authorities told KPRC 2 that a man jumped into the lake just after 2 p.m. and started yelling for help.
Police said the victim's girlfriend was shooting video of him swimming in the lake with her smartphone. Investigators watched the video and were able to pinpoint the man's location in the water.
KPRC 2 talked to a construction worker who said he and his colleagues were in the area working on a pool when they say someone swimming towards shore screamed for help. Michael Owens said he initially thought the man was joking but realized quickly that he was serious.
"From across the lake (he) started swimming freestyle, pretty strong. (He) got to the edge of this deck here and started getting weak," said Owens. "I don't know whether he got a cramp or what happened, and then he started asking for help so I jumped over and started to proceed to help him. By the time I got there, he was already under and it's so deep and murky (that) I couldn't see anything. I couldn't find him."
Owens said he spent about 15 minutes in the water trying to find the man but said the water is so murky he couldn't even see his hand in front of him.
"Finally I had to come back here. I couldn't do it anymore. I was treading water, going under, catching my breath and in the heat all day. I got tired," he said. "I had the chance to save this guy's life and I just couldn't do it."
There are signs along the shore of the lake warning people not to dive in because there are hazards in the lake.