16-year-old drowns while swimming from island to island with friends, Texas cops say

A 16-year-old boy drowned while swimming with friends in the river of a Texas park, police told local media outlets.

The teen was swimming in the San Jacinto River at East End Park around 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, when he went missing, Houston police told KRIV.

Friends realized the teen was no longer with them as they were swimming from island to island, according to reports.

The area was crowded and included several boats, many of which had loud music that may have made it difficult to hear a distress call, according to KRIV.

By 9 p.m. Saturday, first responders considered the search for the teenager a recovery mission, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Officials pronounced him dead when his body didn’t resurface, on Saturday, KPRC reported. The teen’s body was pulled out of the river Sunday night, according to KPRC.

Friends identified the teen as Isaac Lagunas, KTRK reported.

“I had the feeling I was going to go down, so I was trying to get to other side as fast as I could,” his friend, John Pasquarelli, told KTRK. “I was already halfway there. He was probably a quarter of the way. He made it about a third of the way and once I got there, I turned around and he’s like struggling a lot.”

John’s dad, Gregory Pasquarelli, told the outlet there should be signs at the park to warn swimmers about how deep the water is.

This story was originally published July 4, 2022 at 11:05 AM with the headline "16-year-old drowns while swimming from island to island with friends, Texas cops say."