Fred Peters VI, a 25-year-old ranch manager and outdoorsman, has been identified as the man who died after being swept away in the Nueces River near La Pryor last Saturday. His death came while South Texas rivers were still swollen and moving fast after a punishing run of storms.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that the Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department arrived around 4:30 p.m. after receiving word that someone had gone underwater near the FM 481 crossing and failed to resurface. Firefighters, air support and the department’s rescue boat team searched downstream before the operation shifted from rescue to recovery.
Authorities identified the victim as Peters, according to News 4 San Antonio. Family members remembered him as a dedicated ranch manager at the 501 Ranch in Uvalde, an avid hunter and fisherman, and someone who had recently started a game-bird business with a close friend after graduating from Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s ranch and wildlife management program.
Flood Conditions Made The River Especially Dangerous
The danger was not limited to one stretch of river. The Texas Tribune reported that the Nueces near Uvalde rose above major flood stage and crested at 28 feet during the flooding, topping a previous record of nearly 25 feet set in 1996.
A National Weather Service flood statement issued last week said the Nueces below Uvalde had exceeded its 11-foot flood stage and warned people not to cross flowing water. The guidance came as heavy rainfall left rivers and waterways across South Central Texas carrying dangerous currents and debris.
The Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and authorities have not released further details about how Peters was swept away, the station’s report said. For now, the confirmed picture is a recovery operation in a river still carrying the force of historic flooding—and a family mourning a young man whose work and passions were tied to the South Texas outdoors.
