A boating accident at Cedar Creek Lake claimed the lives of two young girls, leaving the local community devastated.
HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas — A boating accident Sunday night at Cedar Creek Lake left two young children dead and the local community shaken.
Henderson County deputies and the Tool Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call at 9:56 p.m. about a boat that had overturned near a cove surrounded by homes. According to Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse, two girls, ages three and five, drowned in the incident. Both were reportedly wearing life vests at the time.
“What I understand is the boat capsized and when it sank, they were underneath it and couldn’t get free from the boat,” the sheriff said.
“It’s tragic when it’s an adult, and when we had the two children, that’s hard on everybody,” said Sheriff Hillhouse.
Witnesses described rough conditions on the water Sunday evening.
“It was so bad my daughter and my brother and I had to leave. It was hitting the grass behind us,” one local resident told WFAA.
Search and rescue teams say their efforts were made more difficult by darkness, strong winds, and choppy water. The sheriff added that the boat had lost power as the family was trying to return to the dock.
“It was a bunch of folks on the boat,” the sheriff said.
Texas Parks and Wildlife and its game warden are investigating the incident. No official details have been released yet.
In a separate incident earlier that same evening, a 43-year-old man drowned while attempting to retrieve a flotation device. This brings the total number of drowning deaths at the lake this year to three. There were six in 2024.
“It strikes the entire community over here,” one resident said.