SMART Divers 2006

Saturday June 9th, 2007 – Canyon Lake, Comal County, Texas - At 4:37pm the Comal County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center received a telephone call of a possible drowning. The victim was last seen swimming approximately 100 yards away from the swim beach area off the point of Comal Park on the South side of Canyon Lake to a small island when he was last seen. Officers from the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife Wardens and U.S. Corp of Engineers responded to the scene. In addition the SMART (San Marcos Area Rescue Team) Divers were called to respond for assistance in locating the subject. At approximately 7:57pm the SMART divers located the victim in the area he was last seen in 10-15 feet of water 50-100 yards from the swim beach. Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Jennifer Saunders was called to scene. Judge Saunders pronounced the victim deceased at 8:45pm as a cause of accidental drowning. No autopsy was ordered. The victim has been identified. He is a Hispanic male 52 years of age from California currently living in San Antonio for the last couple of years. The name is not being released at this time until the next of kin in Mexico has been notified.

Sunday July 08, 2007 – Blanco River, San Marcos/Kyle, Texas - At approximately 7:00pm Hays County Sheriff Office received information of a possible drowning at Randal Vetter Park on the Blanco River 3950 Old Stagecoach Rd in Kyle, Texas. Hays County Sheriff’s Officers, Kyle Fire Department, San Marcos Fire Department, the San Marcos Area Recovery Team (SMART), and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted a search of the area. A Hispanic male identified as 18-year-old Jose Isidro Sierra-Avalos of Buda was swimming with friends. Witnesses stated that the male went farther into the river and disappeared. The search was conducted until approximately 10:00pm when darkness and bad weather caused the search to be suspended. The search resumed early Monday morning on July 09, 2007 and along with the responding units from Sunday evening, was joined by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). At approximately 2:30pm a DPS Helicopter observed what they thought was a possible body in the river. A Diver with San Marcos Area Recovery Team was able to locate the body of the Hispanic male in the Blanco River. Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 Judge Beth Smith pronounced the male deceased at 3:10pm and an autopsy was ordered. On Sunday at the time Sierra-Avalos disappeared the Blanco at Kyle was flowing at 584 cfs; by the time his body was found the next day it had dropped to 537 cfs. On Thursday afternoon, according to U.S.G.S. gauges, it was flowing at 381 cfs.

September 2007 – Milam County, Texas, Little River - SMART was contacted by the Milam County Sheriff’s Department to assist in the search the Little River in Milam County to try to find a trace of James Mollica, 53, of Cameron, who has been missing since July 1. Authorities think Mollica may have accidentally driven his pickup truck into the rain-swollen river. Sheriff’s deputies, game wardens, divers from the San Marcos Area Recovery Team, and boat and top-side support from the South Hays Fire Department spent the day Friday September 7th searching for Mollica’s truck. Using a side-scan sonar device, the teams identified two potential areas of interest, but the current was too swift for divers to be able to determine what was in those areas. The search was called off Friday evening. Authorities have been looking for a trace of Mollica and his truck since the missing man’s wife called the Milam County Sheriff’s Office early on July 1 report that her husband had failed to meet her as planned in Thorndale the night before. Mollica was driving a black 1993 extended cab Ford pickup with Texas license TX 6HBP98. SMART returned to the Little River again on September 19th, 2007 but were again hampered by high water levels and swift current. The Army Corps of Engineers closed the floodgates upstream from Lake Belton, to lower the water level and flow in the search area a week later and the vehicle and Mr. Mollica was found prior to SMART’s arrival for a third day of operations on October 1, 2007. Video 1 & Video 2 from KCEN NBC News channel 6 in Waco, Texas.