At approximately 9:00 a.m. on January 5th, Eastland County dispatch reported that there had been a boat capsize and someone was in the water on Lake Leon near CR 308.  I went to the boat barn, hooked up to my patrol boat and headed to the lake.  Eastland Fire Department had a rescue boat on the scene by the time I launched.  As I arrived near CR 308, the victim was on shore being treated by emergency personnel.  

The officers on the scene told me that she fell out of the boat while fishing, capsizing her small vessel.  She was taken to the hospital, treated for hypothermia, and later transferred to Abilene after experiencing heart trouble.   victim was released Saturday January 8th. I spoke with her about the incident today and she said the trolling motor got caught on a trotline and the boat spun around and began taking water over the back.  She thought the motor wound the trotline around the prop, pulling the transom into the water.  Most likely, the motor hung the trotline, the wind and chop pushed the bow downwind forcing the transom of the boat to face the force of the waves.  The cove was fully exposed to the northwest wind. I believe this, combined with the operator's weight contributed to the sinking.

victim fell into the lake as the boat was submerging and held onto a stump until help arrived. She said she had a PFD in the boat but was not wearing it.  The boat was a small 10' fiberglass boat powered by a trolling motor.  It remains submerged at the time of this report. I asked if the boat was worth $500.00, and she laughed and said that “may be a stretch.”  She showed me a photo of the boat and I would guess someone might pay $300 if it had a good trolling motor. 


Completed by Officer with TPWD.
Eastland                      