Austin boaters rescued after nearly plunging off dam

Four women were rescued by Austin, Texas, authorities after the boat they rented got stuck on the edge of Longhorn Dam on June 10, 2021. (Austin-Travis County EMS/TNS)
Four women were rescued by Austin, Texas, authorities after the boat they rented got stuck on the edge of Longhorn Dam on June 10, 2021. (Austin-Travis County EMS/TNS)

AUSTIN - Boaters taking an afternoon jaunt on Austin's Lady Bird Lake got dangerously close to plunging off the 36-foot-high Longhorn Dam on Thursday before rescuers arrived.

Emergency responders saved all four passengers who had been stuck in the boat on the edge of the 60-year-old dam that forms the lake from the Colorado River. No one was injured.

Witnesses on North Pleasant Valley Road called 911 at 2:36 p.m. after observing the front half of the boat precariously perched "up against the dam."

On the call, the witnesses expressed fear that the boat looked "like it's going to go over the dam," according to Austin-Travis County EMS.

The boat's four female passengers had rented a boat earlier that afternoon from Retro Boat Rentals, a company that specializes in renting out fiberglass runabout boats from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The boat drifted too close to the dam and did not have enough power in its electric motor to pull away, Brad Smith, an Austin police Lake Patrol officer, told ABC News. The passengers called the boat company for assistance, but Retro Boat Rentals staff members also got stuck on the dam trying to help them. None of the boat's four passengers was wearing a life vest.

"We have policies and procedures in place to raise awareness of lakeway boundaries," Retro Boat Rentals manager Sam Kohler told the Austin American-Statesman. "All of our boats are equipped with necessary safety features including life jackets at all times."

STAR Flight rescue helicopter crews lowered life vests down to passengers within 15 minutes of the call. Austin police's Lake Patrol officers then connected to the company's two boats and pulled them away from the dam safely by using a more powerful gas-powered boat.

Austin police identified Smith and two other Lake Patrol officers involved in the rescue, Mark Bozyk and Jesus Perez.

Austin-Travis County EMS Cmdr. Joshua Todd described how perilous the situation was on "Good Morning America."

"Our main concern was - because it was resting so precariously on a very narrow piece of concrete - the shift in the weight balance or the flow of the water would potentially carry it over," he said.

Per Austin City ordinances, people can only go out onto Lady Bird Lake in boats with electric trolling motors that use less than 5 horsepower. Retro Boat Rentals boats comply with those rules and cruise at a maximum speed of 4.5 mph, according to the company's website.

Retro Boat Rentals also has a city permit to rent and operate boats on Lady Bird Lake, without which boat rental companies and customers cannot go out onto the lake.

The company advertises its boats online as being "as simple as driving a golf cart" with "no experience necessary." The boats are available to rent for anyone older than 21 years old.

"We are grateful that everyone in the situation is OK," Kohler said in his statement. "We commend our staff and all the first responders for their swift response to the situation and ensuring the safety of the passengers."

Austin Water, the city's water utility that manages the dam, uses buoys and has posted signage to visually warn boaters in bodies of water, the department said in a statement. The agency said it does not administer fines or fees to boaters who get too close to the dam.

Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department rescued another person who got trapped in floodgate water immediately below Longhorn Dam while fishing in July 2020.

Upcoming Events