Dad and 19-year-old son drown while vacationing along Texas Gulf Coast, officials say

A Texas dad and son drowned while vacationing along the Gulf of Mexico, media outlets report.

Richard Allen Mireles Jr., 47, and his 19-year-old son Nicholas Austin Mireles died this week while visiting Port Aransas, KRIS reported.

Port Aransas Police Chief Scott Burroughs said the father spotted his son struggling in the water shortly before noon Wednesday and swam to save him, the Port Aransas South Jetty reported.

But a rescue team had to save the dad and the son went missing, the newspaper reported.

The father died at a hospital, KRIS reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard and locals agencies searched for the son but could not find him.

The son’s body was found in on the beach about 2:50 a.m. Friday, the Corpus Christi Caller Times reported.

The dad and son were on a family vacation from San Antonio, the newspaper reported.

Port Aransas is a city of about 4,100 on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico.

This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Dad and 19-year-old son drown while vacationing along Texas Gulf Coast, officials say."