A 56-year-old Wadsworth man drowned in the Colorado River at Selkirk Island trying to move a barge around 5:15 p.m. Sunday Aug. 6, Matagorda County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Deputies were sent to Selkirk on a possible drowning call.
Deputies gathered information that indicates a 56-year-old male was attempting to swim across the Colorado River to the Island to retrieve the barge to move a vehicle across from Selkirk Road to the Island.
The subject was almost to the other bank when current swept him under the water and he did not come back to the surface, deputies said.
Texas Game Wardens were called and brought boats to search for the man in the water, reports show.
There also were civilians in boats helping search the waters.
Around 7:15 p.m., the body of the man identified as Vernon Weatherford, 56, from Wadsworth, was located by Game Wardens using sonar and the man’s body was recovered and brought to shore.
Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Amy Tapia was notified and an autopsy was ordered.
