Alvarado Boy, 15, Drowns in Lake Pat

By Matt Smith, Cleburne Times-Review, Texas

Jul. 20–Cleburne firefighters recovered the drowned body of a 15-year-old Alvarado boy Saturday, Cleburne Assistant Fire Chief Keith Scarbrough said. The boy drowned in Lake Pat Cleburne after an air mattress got away from him and another 15-year-old boy about 6:20 p.m. Friday, Scarbrough said. An ambulance transported the second boy to a Fort Worth hospital where he was treated and released. The identities of the two boys were not immediately available.

Divers with the fire department searched the lake until about 10:30 p.m. Friday while a CareFlite helicopter crew looked for signs of the boy from the air, Scarbrough said. Firefighters remained at the lake all night and resumed diving activity early Saturday morning.

Johnson County game warden Scott Kirkpatrick and Hill County game warden Mark Hammond arrived Saturday morning and located several “points of interest” using sonar. CFD divers investigated those points of interest and found the boy’s body about 12:30 p.m., Scarbrough said.

The two boys were south of the boat ramp when the incident occurred,

Scarbrough said. People on shore and other swimmers told rescue workers they thought both boys were horse playing and were unaware of any problem until it was too late, Scarbrough said.

Divers recovered the boy’s body about 100 yards from shore in about six feet of water, he said.

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