Jago Times "English Edition" Best Online Newspaper
Related Articles
Three Florida residents and their dog died Wednesday after they became trapped in a hole in a Central Texas cornfield during a hunting trip.
Bastrop County deputies responded about 1 a.m. to the 300 block of New Trail near County Road 461 north of Elgin, about 25 miles east of Austin, and found the victims in an underground cistern partially filled with water, according to a news release. By the time first responders arrived, the people appeared to be dead.
Efforts to recover the bodies were complicated, taking roughly 18 hours. After a drone was used to inspect the stability of the walls of the cistern, an investigator was lowered into the hole and brought the victims to the surface.
The victims were identified by the sheriff’s office as Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45.
Sheriff Maurice Cook said Thursday the three were on a hog hunting trip led by a man from Red Rock, whose name was not released, when one of their dogs fell into the cistern.
The initial investigation indicates one of the threvictims also ended up in the hole, most likely in an attempt to rescue the dog, and the two other people followed in an effort to help save that person, the sheriff said. The hunting trip leader went to his truck to call 911.
In addition to poisonous gas trapped in the hole, the water level in the cistern “was far below” the opening, which prevented the people from escaping, according to the sheriff’s office.
The investigation to confirm details surrounding the deaths is ongoing.