CLEVELAND, Texas – The bodies of two teens who jumped into the Trinity River to save a child and her father were found Monday, authorities said.
The incident happened around 7:15 p.m. Sunday near the State Highway 105 Bridge in Moss Hill, according to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said the 5-year-old and her father were among several people “swimming in the dangerous waters of the river” when the child started struggling.
The girl’s father, 25-year-old Abel Castellanos and Jaerson Alvarez, 18, and Wilmer Alexi Rodriguez, 17, jumped in to help, authorities said.
Castellanos was able to pull his daughter to safety, but in the process of rescuing her, he ingested a
“During this process, the father ingested some water (and) we had to send Life Flight,” Captain Ken DeFoor said. “He was transported to a Houston hospital. Unfortunately, the two good Samaritans ... went under.”
Their bodies were recovered Monday morning around 9 a.m. in about 45 feet of water, according to authorities.
Authorities said signs have been put up and people have been advised not to swim in the part of the river, because it is dangerous and has claimed lives before.
The water looks calm, but under the surface there is “always a strong current that can pull a person downstream quickly,” according to the LCSO. “In addition, the river bottom is covered with large holes where one minute a person may be at waist deep water but the next step drops them into a hole of 40 to 50 feet of swift water.”
Officials said the warning signs that have been put up keep being torn downs and used for camp fires..