Woman and son missing for hours at Lake Livingston found safe
LAKE LIVINGSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman and her son who disappeared on the south end of Lake Livingston were found safe overnight after a seven-hour search.
Deputies say the mother, her boyfriend, Ricardo Lopez, and her 14-year-old son were on a boat ride as storms started to roll in around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
As they headed back to the marina, the waves picked up and the boat capsized, throwing everyone into the water.
All three of them were wearing life vests.
Lopez told ABC13 he went to look for help and started swimming toward the shore.
"It seems like I never moved. I was getting closer, but it still took some time to get to the shore. I heard some music and then I started yelling for help until someone answered me back," Lopez explained.
According to the San Jacinto Sheriff's Office, boaters rescued him. They went to look for the woman and her son but couldn't find them.
Dozens of rescue crews joined the search for the pair.
Around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, helicopters with the U.S. Coast Guard found the mother and son floating in the lake 10 miles from where their boat capsized.
They were still wearing their life vests.
Texas game wardens helped them to safety, giving them dry towels.
"At the end of the day, when that helicopter said, 'I got two in the water waving at us,' it was a good day," said Cpt. Joe Schultea with the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office.
Officials say the woman and her son were scared and cold when they found them, but they're going to be okay.
