Rescuers returned at first light Monday to the Camilla boat ramp area south of Lake Livingston Dam.
COLDSPRING, Texas — Two teenagers died and a 53-year-old father remained missing Monday after a kayak overturned on the Trinity River on Sunday evening near the Camilla boat ramp, according to county officials and Texas game wardens.
Authorities said choppy water south of the Lake Livingston Dam flipped the small kayak with two boys aboard. The father of one teen jumped in after seeing the capsize and did not resurface. Dive teams recovered both teens’ bodies Sunday night as darkness and currents forced crews to suspend the search for the father until 7 a.m. Monday. Multiple agencies returned with boats, sonar and divers. The deaths and the ongoing search have drawn families and residents to the riverbank, where they waited for news as crews navigated swift water and low visibility.
Deputies and game wardens said the call came in Sunday after sunset for an overturned kayak and three missing people. Responders from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and area fire units converged on the Camilla ramp, a popular access south of the dam. Divers recovered the teenagers, ages fourteen and fifteen, within hours, officials said. “This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Sheriff Sam Houston said in a prepared statement, thanking wardens, volunteers and neighboring agencies who worked through the night. Julia Poff identified her fourteen-year-old son, Jake, as one of the victims and said the boys were not wearing life vests. She said the missing man, her estranged husband Billie, jumped in to try to save the boys.
By daybreak Monday, the Texas Game Warden Underwater Search and Recovery Team relaunched with side-scan sonar while boats from San Jacinto and Polk counties dragged the channel downstream. A Texas State Park Police unit and local first responders helped manage the scene and family area. The father’s name had not been officially released by authorities by midday, and officials had not identified the second teen pending notification. The sheriff’s office said the river was running fast with turbulent surface chop. Crews marked several sonar targets, then cleared them one by one. Officials did not immediately release depths or exact coordinates but described the recovery zone as just below the dam outflow near sandbars and eddies.
The Trinity River below Lake Livingston is a well-used stretch for fishing and small craft. In recent years, sheriff’s logs show periodic drownings tied to sudden releases and shifting currents below the spillway, particularly on weekends. Sunday’s incident occurred at the start of a cool, breezy night with falling light. Residents said the Camilla ramp, a concrete launch with limited lighting, can get tricky after dark when wakes bounce off the banks. School leaders in Coldspring-Oakhurst confirmed counselors would be available this week. Community groups began organizing support for the families, including an online fundraiser mentioned by relatives at the scene.
Officials said the case remains a recovery operation for the missing father unless new information indicates otherwise. The sheriff’s office asked neighboring agencies to maintain boat patrols through Monday afternoon and said any formal identification would come from the county medical examiner after notification of kin. If the father is found Monday, an autopsy could be scheduled as early as Tuesday, with a preliminary report to follow. Authorities said they would determine whether to forward a report to prosecutors, a standard step in fatality investigations, though no criminal allegations had been announced as of Monday.
On the riverbank, relatives embraced in small circles as crews idled near the channel markers. “Jake was one of a kind,” Poff said, recalling her son as a freshman football player at Coldspring-Oakhurst High School who “wanted to be a cowboy.” A neighbor described the stretch as “deceptive, calm from the bank,” while a volunteer boater said the eddies “grab you and don’t let go.” A game warden at the ramp said divers were rotating in short cycles due to visibility and fatigue. None of the officials at the site would estimate how long the search might continue if Monday’s efforts did not find the father.
As of late Monday morning, boats and divers were still working a grid south of the spillway, and the sheriff’s office planned an afternoon update if conditions allowed. The medical examiner’s office will handle formal IDs for the teens. The next milestone is confirmation of the father’s recovery and identification, which could come later Monday or Tuesday if the search yields results.
Author note: Last updated November 11, 2025.