A Texas Department of Public Safety aircraft on a border-interdiction patrol assisted in a search for a missing kitesurfer near South Padre Island. Footage showed a man holding a channel marker, and a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden vessel helped pull a male kitesurfer from the water.
A Border Patrol Flight Gets Redirected
The DPS aircrew was supporting Operation Stonegarden, according to Texas Department of Public Safety. While airborne, the crew received a request from the South Padre Island Police Department to help search for a missing kitesurfer.
The division operates a fleet of 28 aircraft out of 13 duty stations across the state. The crew assisted in the search for a missing kitesurfer.
A Man Found Holding a Channel Marker
Footage showed a man holding onto a channel marker near South Padre Island. A Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden vessel helped pull a male kitesurfer from the water, per the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The DPS aircrew also located a second kitesurfer during the search, the agency said.
Both Riders Treated for Medical Attention
Both kitesurfers received medical attention following the rescues, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Why South Padre's Waters Are So Unpredictable
South Padre Island's geography helps explain how a routine outing on the water can turn dangerous so quickly. The island features two very different watersport environments: the shallow, waist-deep flats of Laguna Madre Bay to the west, long favored by beginner kitesurfers, and the open waters and waves of the Gulf of Mexico to the east, according to MACkite Boardsports. Seasonal winds range from 12 to 25 mph in summer and 12 to 30 mph in winter.
Certified kitesurfing instruction requires riders to learn self-rescue protocols, which call for flagging out the kite to kill its power, securing the lines, and using the kite's inflated leading edge as a floating raft to get back to shore, per Elite Watersports. Those procedures exist specifically to prevent kitesurfers from being swept into navigational channels when something goes wrong offshore.
Other Rescues Along the Coast
The rescue adds to a string of recent water emergencies around South Padre Island that have drawn on the same patchwork of state and federal responders. In September, a joint search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, Cameron County Park Rangers, and Texas Game Wardens recovered the body of a missing kayaker found after search three days after he vanished offshore.
The City of South Padre Island Fire Department also runs a 24/7 division managing Beach Patrol, a dive team, and advanced EMS units for coastal and bay emergencies, according to the City of South Padre Island. A separate rescue involved two boaters, including an 80-year-old man.
