Body of a Dallas man who vanished on Bolivar found

The body of a Dallas man who went missing after going for a swim on Bolivar Peninsula has been recovered, authorities said Tuesday.

The 34-year-old man, whose identity was not immediately released, was found about 6 a.m. Tuesday on the beach about a quarter-mile from where he entered the water near Gilchrist. He was reported missing about 5:30 p.m. Monday.

“He was in the water with about 10 or 12 other folks. … He got off his float and (his friends) were all talking about something. They turned back and looked, and he was gone,” said Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset. “It was very rough surf yesterday.”

The sheriff’s office has said the man had been on the beach all day and was 50 to 100 yards from shore when he disappeared.

“The families had been searching for about 30 minutes before they called us,” Greg Hayes, a patrol lieutenant at the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, said Monday. When officers arrived, Trochesset said, there were about a dozen folks out on small float-up rafts looking for him.

The Coast Guard, using a helicopter, joined the sheriff ’s office in the search.

Hayes blamed choppy waters and a strong rip current for the incident. “Most people try to swim against them,” Hayes said. “They get tired and panic.”

The sheriff ’s office recovered the body, Trochesset said.