KINGSLAND, Texas — The Llano County Sheriff's Office is investigating the deaths of two people as homicides after their bodies were found floating in the Llano River Saturday morning.
The bodies were found near an area called "The Slab" in Kingsland, a popular swimming area. The sheriff's office has identified the victims as Mark Baldwin and Kellie Leeann McCormick. Both are from Kingsland.
When asked what 59-year-old Baldwin was like as a brother, his sister, Debbie Watson, immediately teared up.
"I don't know if I can do this. You know, brothers and sisters have their moments, no matter what. But he was the kindest. He'd have given you the shirt off his back. He'd do anything for you," Watson said.
Watson and Baldwin's mom, Johnell Allard, said he was a son who visited and called his mom every day.
"He was a godsend to me. He's the only relative I have left in this area," Allard said.
Baldwin's family said he was in a relationship with Kellie Leeann McCormick for 10 years. Her daughter, Pamela McCormick, said they lived a "simple life" where they would go to the Llano River, swim and hang out together.
"He devoted every minute of his life to my mother," Pamela McCormick said.
"They would go down there a lot and use their metal detectors and see what they could find," Watson said.
But their lives came to a tragic end at the very place they made memories together. At about 10 a.m. on Saturday, deputies responded to a 911 call after someone found their bodies in the river.
The Llano County Sheriff's Office is investigating their deaths as homicides but has not shared any details about how they died or any leads on a suspect.
"I wanted to scream, but I didn't because I didn't want to scare my husband because of his Alzheimer's," Allard said.
"It's just complete shock, devastation. I just can't even imagine anybody ever wanting to hurt them," Pamela McCormick said.
Now, two people are gone, taking pieces of their families with them.
"We need to know who did this," Pamela McCormick said.
"l'll miss not having his phone call every night, seeing him come up the ramp to see me. I'll miss him all the time. I'll never get over it," Allard said.
If you know anything that could help investigators, you're asked to call the Llano County Sheriff's Office at 325-247-5767 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 866-756-8477.