Buchanan drowning victim identified

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The man who drowned on Lake Buchanan Saturday has been identified as Dennis Fernandes, 37, of Round Rock.

The body was recovered about 4:30 p.m. Monday by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) Game Wardens and the Buchanan Dam Fire Rescue volunteers and the name of the victim was released today.

“Friends and family of Fernandes called 9-1-1 on Saturday about 4 p.m.,” said Steve Lightfoot, a TPWD public information officer.

The event occurred north of Buchanan Dam near Big Chief RV and Cabin Resort off Farm to Market Road 690, as a boat drifted out from an unsecured anchor. Fernandes apparently had gone in to the water to help swimming children back onboard when he slipped beneath the water and did not resurface.

“A child was getting fatigued,” said Game Warden Gordon Wilkes at the scene. “The victim went in after the child to get him back in the boat and he, in turn, got tired and was unable to stay up.”

Divers and sonar-equipped boats continued the search along the shore of the lake through Sunday. Game Wardens said they would continue until they located the lost man and “gave the family closure.”

Lightfoot said that, in addition to game wardens, first responders included the Lower Colorado River Authority Lake Patrol, the Burnet County Sheriff's Office and local volunteer fire department personnel.