Body of Missing Kayaker Recovered in Texas Lake 4 Days After Her Disappearance

The body of a missing kayaker was found over the weekend in a Huntsville State Park lake in Texas, four days after she went missing.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) identified the victim as Jennifer Luten, 44, of Montgomery, Texas, in a news release issued Sunday after her body was pulled from Raven Lake the previous day.

According to the statement, Luten’s death “appears to be related to drowning and not caused by an alligator attack.” The official cause of Luten’s death is still under investigation, TPWD said.

Luten went missing Wednesday morning Oct. 25 after “other kayakers found her kayak floating freely on Raven Lake” and her “vehicle was still parked at the boat ramp,” officials said. Luten had rented a kayak from a self service on the lake the night before on Tuesday, October 24th around 6pm.

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Lake Raven in Huntsville, Texas.

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Texas State Park Police responded to a missing person report in the park on Wednesday with assistance from the Huntsville Fire Department, Huntsville Police Department, New Waverly Fire Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Game Wardens search teams that included divers, sonar boats and K- 9 teams to search the lake and surrounding areas.

Huntsville State Park wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that Raven Lake and the boat ramp are now open, but the swimming area is still closed after initially closing last month.

“Due to the excessive heat and drought this summer, our lake ecosystem and its native inhabitants have been affected,” the park wrote on Facebook on September 15. “Until it’s back to normal, we’re closing the swimming area.”

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Days earlier, visitors to Huntsville State Park had an up-close encounter with an alligator on Oct. 9, ABC 13 Houston reported.

A video shared online by David Šiljeg shows a large alligator approaching several screaming children and adults in the water.

“Look how big it is,” Siljeg said in the video, estimating the alligator to be 12 feet long, according to ABC 13 Houston.

TPWD advises those who come near an alligator to slowly back away from the creature. Although it’s rare for the reptiles to chase people, the department says they can run up to 35 miles per hour for short distances on land.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education