3 people, dog die after falling into C. Texas cistern
Three Florida residents died this week after attempting to rescue a dog that had fallen into a deep, water-filled hole in a Bastrop County cornfield.
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a report of people trapped in a cistern on private property north of Elgin about 1 a.m. Wednesday. They found the bodies of two men, a woman and a dog in the tank, which was partially filled with water.
“The water level of the cistern was far below the small opening of the cistern, which was at ground level, preventing anyone from escaping,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post.
The victims were identified as Denise Martinez, 26, Delvys Garcia, 37, and Noel Vigil-benitez, 45.
Authorities said they were in a hog-hunting party that was about to set out from a field in the 300 block of New Trails, just east of Texas 95. One of their dogs got loose and fell into the cistern through a 4-foot-wide opening, Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said. The water level inside was about 8 feet below the ground, he said.
The three descended into the hole one by one — first to rescue the dog, then to help each other as they became trapped.
“That group was there to save each other,” Cook said during a news briefing. “That takes a lot of guts to jump in.”
A fourth member of the party, who was from Red Rock in Bastrop County, returned to his truck to call for help.
First responders reported strong fumes, akin to those from a septic tank, emanating from the cistern. Cook said the fumes likely were hydrogen sulfide, a
highly toxic gas that occurs naturally in sewers, wells and manure pits.
Cook said it appeared that the three victims were quickly overcome by the fumes and could not keep themselves afloat.
“It wasn’t long ... before they went to the bottom,” he said.
The fumes, along with the instability of the man-made structure, also hampered recovery efforts and prevented officers from climbing inside.
An attempt to dig beside the reservoir to allow access to the bodies was abandoned because “breaching the side would weaken the walls and make entry unsafe,” the sheriff ’s office said.
Once the hole was ventilated and water was removed, a small drone was deployed to examine the integrity of its walls.
A Bastrop County investigator then volunteered to be lowered into the structure to recover the bodies.
“With the support of the Elgin Fire Department and the city of Elgin utility crews, the investigator was successfully lowered into the hole, recovering all three victims and the dog,” the sheriff’s office said.
The recovery effort concluded about 7:30 p.m.
By law, cisterns must be covered to prevent accidents of this kind, Cook said. He said investigators were trying to determine who owned the property and that early indications were that the owner might have died recently.
Gofundme accounts were posted online for Martinez and Garcia to cover some of their funeral costs. Both had raised around $20,000 as of Friday morning.
“It’s a sad day,” Cook said. “Can you imagine? You have loved ones, and they come to Texas to hunt, and then it ends like this.”