LAKEWAY, Texas — Officials have identified a man who was found dead after going missing in the Rough Hollow Marina area near Lake Travis on Sunday.
The body, which was found a day later, was identified as John Petrone, 75, of Illinois.
At 11:45 p.m. Sunday night deputies had to suspend search efforts, but restarted their search for the man on Monday morning. The body was found in the vicinity of the reported missing swimmer, Travis County Sheriff's Office said on Monday afternoon.
Deputies said the area where the man was last seen is between 40 to 90 feet deep, with sharp drop-offs and underwater trees in the area.
According to Austin-Travis County EMS, initial reports before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday stated that a person may have been in distress in the water. Other unconfirmed reports stated the victim was afloat on the surface.
Witnesses said a 70-year-old man was last seen in the water without a life jacket.
Rescue swimmers, along with STAR Flight, searched the area for more than 20 minutes on Sunday, ATCEMS reported.
By 8:20 p.m. Sunday night, ATCEMS said rescue efforts had been deescalated to recovery mode. Search efforts included scanning the area with sonar, camera and a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
He was found in 42 feet of water.
Petrone is the second person to die in Lake Travis so far this year. Sebastian Medina-Page died on Feb. 21 in the Hurst Creek Arm area while trying to repair a broken pump at a private residence.
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