Crews Find Body Of Man Believed To Have Drowned At Grapevine Lake

GRAPEVINE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Crews have found the body of a man believed to have drowned in Grapevine Lake Saturday afternoon.

Search and rescue teams were out at the lake since around 7 a.m. Sunday. It was a joint effort with the Flower Mound Fire Department, Grapevine Fire Department and the Texas Game Warden.

Firefighters said the man in his 60s who they were looking for disappeared around 12:30 p.m. Saturday after going into the water from a pontoon boat. He was not wearing a life jacket.

The identity of the body has not yet been released pending results from the medical examiner.

According to firefighters, the man wasn't able to get back into the boat as it drifted away due to strong winds creating a decent amount of current and waves on the lake.

Fire departments stress this is another tragic reminder of just how dangerous lakes can be.

"We cannot stress enough the importance of life jackets. Unfortunately, we see too many drownings each year, especially on the area lakes, Grapevine Lake included. In almost every instance, it's someone that's not wearing a life jacket. We cannot stress that enough. A life jacket will save your life," Brandon Barth, division chief of the Flower Mound Fire Department, said.

The fire department said Grapevine Lake is even more dangerous now because it's about seven feet higher than usual. This leads to the shoreline being different, and people might not be able to see submerged tree trunks or picnic tables.

Crews will be out searching for the victim until it gets dark as long as potential storms don't prevent search operations.