Lake Travis sees highest number of missing swimmers in over a decade

As summer comes to an end, the Travis County Sheriff’s office reported 10 missing swimmers for this year. FOX 7 Austin's Steven Sarabia has the details and has more on how to stay safe on the water.

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas - As summer comes to an end, the Travis County Sheriff’s office reported 10 missing swimmers for this year. This is the highest number of missing swimmers in over a decade.

"Every story of a missing swimmer on Lake Travis is tragic and it is so hard on those families," said Kristen Dark the Travis County Sheriff’s Office Senior Public Information Officer.

"Lake Travis is a busy place year-round and it’s also a dangerous place year-round. You could be standing in five feet of water take one step and be in 30 feet of water. It’s got low visibility, it’s got hazards at the bottom of the lake, it’s a lake you have to take seriously," Dark says.

In the 10 incidents, TCSO says they all have one thing in common.

"Every incidence is different. We’ve had everything from a medical emergency, to an accident. The one thing these do you have in common is every person who has gone missing in Lake Travis has was not wearing a flotation device," said Dark.

The temperatures will still be warm enough for activities on Lake Travis throughout the rest of the year, which is why the sheriff’s office continues to push the importance of wearing life jackets when out on the water.

"We have never pulled a missing swimmer out of Lake Travis who is wearing a life jacket it is the one thing you can do to guarantee the opportunity for rescue in an emergency," Dark says.

If an emergency does happen at the lake every second counts, and with how big the lake is, help could take some time to get to you if a patrol boat isn’t nearby.

Alongside life jackets, officials are also urging people to be aware of where they are on the lake.

Dark says, "A lot of times people get in a panic and call 911 and the dispatcher says ‘where are you?’ and they say I don’t know it’s so important to pay attention to where you are on the lake so when you call 911 an emergency we can get to you as fast as possible."

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