2021 among deadliest of years at Lake Conroe
An increase in visits during the pandemic is seen as a factor in five drownings and one fatality caused by a boating wreck
LAKE CONROE — As part of a trend apparently spurred by increased visits during the pandemic, 2021 on Lake Conroe was marked by five drownings and a fatal boating wreck. The six fatalities led to the deadliest of recent years on the lake.
July 10’s wreck, the first in at least four years, added to deaths from drownings. Those drownings matched a 2020 spike. The Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office points to a boost in visits to the lake in the past two years as a likely contributing factor to the climb in deaths.
The agency’s marine division is urging visitors follow safety guidelines.
“We try to cultivate a safe culture for the lake,” said constable’s spokesman Capt. Joe Sclider. “It is a partnership between law enforcement and the people that use the lake in maintaining a safe environment.”
The summer boat crash left a 56-year-old father from Buda dead, and it seriously injured his son and another man.
In that incident, Montgomery resident Robert Brad Rice, 53, is charged with six felonies, including manslaughter and intoxicated manslaughter, court records show. He is also facing two aggravated assault and two intoxication assault charges, according to court documents.
Rice’s “reckless operation of his watercraft after having consumed alcohol to the point of intoxication, the excessive and unsafe speed he operated his watercraft for the then existing conditions, and his use of lights on his watercraft that inhibited his ability to see around him, caused the death of Earl Schneider and caused serious bodily injury to” two others, read a probable cause affidavit filed by a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden.
The rise in fatalities on Lake Conroe began in summer 2020. The five drownings that year exceeded by one the total number from 2017 to 2019.
The lake patrol has previously discussed how the surge in visits during the earlier part of the pandemic was likely because of its accessibility. Many public indoor settings were still limited by COVID-19 mitigation efforts as late as the early part of 2021.
“Because of our close proximity to Houston, (Lake Conroe) is one of the more highly trafficked lakes,” Sclider said. “It was probably a COVID stop for activities when people couldn’t get to normal businesses or out and about with their families.”
All but one of the five drownings in 2021 were before Memorial Day. The first drownings of 2019 and 2020 did not occur until summer’s unofficial kickoff or later.
A man lost his life in February this year after falling off a deck and into the water. Another man died in March after jumping out of a boat on the lake. Then in the first double drowning to hit Lake Conroe in years, a couple went missing in early May. Their bodies were recovered five days later.
The three victims in March and May were not wearing life vests, according to the constable’s office. The agency advocates for vests, arguing that most drownings could be prevented by their use.
On every major summer holiday on the lake, the lake patrol does free voluntary boat safety checks identifying the six items required by Texas law: life jackets, a fire extinguisher, a Class IV throwable life preserver, a sounding device, a state-issued registration card and a cutoff switch lanyard, which is an emergency device that shuts off a boat’s engine if the driver is thrown off.
The constable’s office also has an additional safety tip for those on the water. Designating a captain on a boat, not unlike a designated driver, is something Sclider said Precinct 1 Constable Philip Cash have pushed. This at-alltimes-sober captain will be responsible for the boat and its passengers throughout the visit to Lake Conroe, Sclider said.
“When people get complacent in that environment, unfortunately people lose their lives,” Sclider said.