December 4, 1999 - Gabriel Lester, a 17 year old student is missing from St. Stephens school in Austin.  His locked vehicle containing his identification is found parked next to the Pennybaker bridge on Loop 360 over the Colorado River.  The Travis County Sheriff's Department contacts SMART to search the river below for the missing student.  SMART searches for 3 hours and finds two telephone booths, two motorcycles, newspaper vending machines, a strong box and other trash, but no evidence of the missing student.   Gabriel's body is later found on shore below the bridge and on steep cliff about 75 feet up from the water.  See our Photo Gallery's Recovery Operations section for a picture taken under the 360 bridge in Travis County as the team prepares to launch the dive boat.  99-1204-11.

October 16, 1999 - During the annual fall San Marcos River clean-up, SMART received awards for the most bottles recovered (307) and most shoes (24).  The team also collected 317 cans but fell short of breaking their old record of 432 bottles set on March 28, 1998.  The annual clean up is sponsored by the City of San Marcos Park & Recreation.  See photographs in our Photo Gallery's Recovery Operations section. 99-1016-10

September 18, 1999 - SMART members participated in the annual Blanco river clean up in Hays County at 5 mile dam.  The low water and drought conditions exposed a large portion of the riverbed enabling participants to clean up a large area in and around the park.  99-0918-09 

August 4, 1999 - A ten year old boy snorkeling down the San Marcos river with a church group becomes alarmed when he sees what he believes in a man's leg submerged in the river.  San Marcos PD investigates and calls SMART to search the river in the area of City Park.  After 90 minutes of searching the river bottom in very clear water, divers find shoes, a snorkel, mask, and tree limps, but nothing to cause alarm.  99-0804-08

July 31, 1999 - A 21 year old Honduran national visiting his family in New Braunfels, spent the evening at River Rats campground on the Guadalupe River.  Shortly after 9pm, the family saw the victim walking in shallow water along the west bank of the river approaching the Loop 337 bridge.  A few minutes later they heard him yell for help but they could not find him in the darkness.  The New Braunfels FD and Comal County SO called SMART for assistance at 1:55pm after 6 hours of searching the Guadalupe river.   Divers were hampered by heavy debris in the water left behind by the October 1998 flooding.  The search pattern was extended south under the Loop 337 bridge where the body of Jerson Ortiz Medina was found in 8 feet of water.  99-0731-07.

July 6, 1999 - The Comal County Sheriff's Department requested SMART Divers to assist the Canyon Lake Fire Department and Comal County Emergency Services Unit with a drowning victim recovery near the Canyon Lake dam at North Park.  Despite the chain link fence and warning signs, a adult male jumped off the rock cliffs into the water and failed to surface.  Family members of the deceased reported the incident to the Sheriff's Department.  The body was recovered by members of the Canyon Lake FD and CCESU.  99-0706-06.

June 22, 1999 - FEMA and the San Marcos Parks & Recreation Department requested SMART to inspect the Dam at Rio Vista park in San Marcos for signs of damage and deterioration from the October 1998 flood.  SMART took measurements and an underwater video of the structure which were compared to measurements taken in April 1996.  Although the dam is undercut and in poor shape with exposed timbers, the dam suffered little damage from the recent flooding.  99-0622-05.

May 4, 1999 - The dive team responds to the Blanco River near 5-mile dam to assist the San Marcos Police Department with the recovery of physical evidence stolen during recent building burglaries. Divers recovered two police radios with accessories that were stolen from the City of San Marcos earlier in the year and discarded into the Blanco River. The underwater crime scene is documented with underwater video and physical evidence is preserved. The radios were delivered to the Texas Department of Public Safety laboratory in Austin where they were processed for fingerprints. A suspect was arrested and charged later in the same month.  99-0504-04.

February 22, 1999 - Divers returned to the San Marcos River near Thompson's Island to search for more military ammunition. Using an underwater metal detector, divers located a watch, electric dog collar, three fishing poles, a road sign, a digital pager, batteries, vehicle parts, lead weights, and a set of vehicle keys. Divers searched approximately 300 feet of river bottom in a 3 hour period. No further ammunition was located leading investigators to believe the military round discovered the day before was an isolated incident. 99-0222-03.

February 21, 1999 - SMART assisted San Marcos PD detectives with a burglary investigation which led to the San Marcos River.  Divers searched two areas of the river for stolen property taken in the recent burglary.   Among the items discovered was a 25mm military round of live ammunition that was unrelated to the case being investigated. US Army EOD took custody of the round and exploded the warhead at the local FD training area.   99-0221-02.

February 6, 1999 - Assisting the Texas Natural Resource and Conservation Commission (TNRCC), SMART cave divers descended into Ezel's Cave in San Marcos to collect water and sediment samples.  During the cave dive, a rarely seen endangered species, the Texas Blind Salamander, appeared at the bottom of the cave floor.   Divers captured the Salamander and the cave on 35mm film.  You can see a very rare photograph of the Salamander in the See photographs in our Photo Gallery's Cave Diving section.   99-0206-01.

© 2004 San Marcos Area Recovery Team