A fishing trip to Lake Brownwood ended tragically for an Odessa man Friday, according to officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Brown County Water Improvement District’s Lake Patrol officers received a report of an unoccupied boat that was floating on Lake Brownwood with its motor running, between Dominion Point and Thunderbird Bay around 2:57 p.m. Friday.
According to game warden Travis Allen, Lake Patrol officers secured the boat and identified its owner. Shortly after the registered owner of the boat was determined, a search began for 45-year-old Lance Easley of Odessa which located his truck and trailer near a boat ramp.
Through social media, the officers and game warden were able to find where Easley worked and were able to contact his family. The family indicated that Easley had gone on a fishing trip to Lake Brownwood alone, but that he was very familiar with the lake and had family locally in Brownwood. The family contacted Brown County Sheriff’s Office and filed a missing person report on Friday.
Allen explained that a witness stated that they had heard Easley start the engine of the boat between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Allen stated that there was no evidence that would lead investigators to believe that the boat had struck anything to cause Easley to be thrown from the boat. The way Easley entered the water had not been determined, but it is believed he may have fallen into the water while the boat was stopped, as the motor of the boat was in neutral when it was located, according to Allen.
(Information from BigCountryHomepage.com)