Two Boy Scouts Killed In Texas During Troop 620 Boating Trip
Two Boy Scouts were killed during a troop boating trip on an East Texas lake on Saturday. One Boy Scout Troop 620 member was also injured during the fatal boat accident and remains hospitalized.
The Boy Scouts were boating on Lake O’ the Pines near Avinger, Texas, over the weekend when tragedy struck. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, three members of the Hallsville Boy Scout Troop 620 were boating on the lake when they collided with a power line at about 2 p.m.
Lake O’ the Pines is located about 150 miles east of Dallas. The names of the Boy Scouts involved in the fatal boating accident have not been officially released to the public. According to a report by MSN, the scouts were 18, 16, and 11. All three of the Boy Scout Troop 620 members were wearing life jackets when the boating accident occurred.
A candlelight vigil was held in Hallsville after the fatal boating accident. The Longview News-Journal covered the large community gathering and identified two of the Boy Scout Troop 620 members killed in the boating accident as Will Brannon, 17, and Heath Faucheux, 16.
Both Brannon and Faucheux had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Will Brannon is the son of Boy Scout Troop 620 leader Stan Brannon. Heath Faucheux’s father, Dion Faucheux, is the troop’s assistant scoutmaster.
A terrible tragedy. Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Boy Scouts & their families. https://t.co/GDnHpb6rBw
— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) August 6, 2017
When Texas Parks and Wildlife staffers found the Boy Scouts at the scene of the accident, the 18-year-old troop member was still in the boat and the 16-year-old scout was in the lake water. Both of the young men reportedly sustained extensive bodily injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The topsail of the catamaran containing the Boy Scouts may have made contact with the power line or arced with it, according to reports about the fatal boating accident. The catamaran was reportedly on fire with its sails up when the Texas wildlife officers converged on the scene.
The 11-year-old Boy Scout, tentatively identified as Thomas Larry, was found in an unresponsive state in the boat of good Samaritans who were nearby when the fatal accident occurred. The unidentified good Samaritans were giving the scout CPR when the authorities arrived.
Thomas Larry was transported to the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. All three of the Boy Scout Troop 620 members were electrocuted when the boat they were riding in came into contact with the power line. He was reportedly listed in critical condition on Sunday.
2 Boy Scouts killed and 1 critically hurt when their sailboat hit a power line and apparently electrocuted them: https://t.co/Zzftv4M7ZG pic.twitter.com/GczhfODVau
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 7, 2017
All three of the Boy Scouts were also members of the school band.
“You’re talking about great young men, men of integrity,” Hallsville Band Director Sherri Morgan said at the candlelight vigil when thanking the community for their prayers on behalf of the families of the Boy Scouts. “We’re heart-broken, we’re devastated. All is not lost, they leave a legacy. So, they are going to live on forever.”
East Texas Boy Scouts of America Chief Operating Officer Daniel Anderson said the troop was camping on private property on the north shore of Lake O’ the Pines near Alley Creek.
[Featured Image by mmlynch3/Shutterstock]
