A family fishing outing in Calhoun County ended in tragedy when a 28-year-old father and his 4-year-old son drowned at Hog Bayou, according to officials. The alarm was first raised when Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority maintenance workers spotted two small children alone at the Hog Bayou boat ramp and called for help, kicking off a large-scale search effort. Crews and aircraft searched the water and shoreline before recovering the bodies on Wednesday.
As reported by Fox San Antonio, Texas Game Wardens were notified on Wednesday by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office after workers found two children, ages 4 and 6, at the ramp roughly 33 miles from Victoria. The children told responders they had been fishing late the previous night when the 4-year-old went into the water, and their father followed in an attempt to save him, according to the outlet.
The father was found first. ">Fox San Antonio reported that he was located and recovered around 1 p.m., with the child discovered about an hour and a half later. The search brought together Texas Game Wardens, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the General Land Office. DPS used a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with thermal technology, while the GLO deployed a drone. Local nonprofit Hunter Hadleys Quest, Inc. also joined the effort and is continuing to support the family, according to the coverage.
Hog Bayou Ramp And Local Access
The Hog Bayou boat ramp serves as a public access point into nearby marshes and waterways and has been the subject of shoreline and ramp upgrades, according to a summary from the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust. For questions about local jurisdiction or to reach law enforcement in the area, residents can contact the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office.
Water Safety And What Experts Say
Drowning remains one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death for very young children in the United States, and national data show that kids ages 1 to 6 are at particularly high risk. The CDC has documented those dangers in detail, while state and local officials regularly stress basic water-safety steps such as constant supervision, consistent life-jacket use and layering multiple protections around open water.
Next Steps
Calhoun County authorities are leading the investigation and have not yet released the names of the father and child. Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office.
