The Lubbock County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body found in a storm water ditch as 52 year old Salvador Castro, Thursday.
His body was first discovered by an individual driving a construction vehicle along an access road by I-27 Wednesday afternoon.
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The Lubbock Fire Department’s Dive Team recovered Castro’s body a few hours after the discovery.
Lubbock Fire Rescue Caption of Communications Kevin Ivy said finding a body in water is more common than assumed.
“Somebody might be walking, slip and fall, and hit their head at night time,” Ivy said. “Or any number of reasons, like have a heart attack while they’re next to a lake fishing. So bodies have been found before so it’s not abnormal but it’s not a normal thing that we do every day either.”
Lubbock Police or The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office must request the dive team for their assistance on an emergency. Ivy said they usually respond to Code 1 emergencies and cover the entire South Plains area. He added a minimum of eight divers must be available for each shift.
“To look for weapons, somebody may have committed a crime and threw the weapon in a body of water to get rid of it,” Ivy said. “At times we’ve had stolen cars, that after they got through with the joy ride or whatever they used it for they just put it in the water and we’ll just find a car and we’ll get it out. A lot of time, somebody just loses control and drives in.”
Also a former member of the Lubbock Dive Team, Ivy said they must complete months of training to be qualified for the team. Then they have continuous training each year.
“We go to Lake Alan Henry and ply lakes in our area,” Ivy said. “The Dive Team has quarterlies and they have to do a minimum of 20 hours every year to keep certifications up for the Fire Department.”