Current:Home > BackTwo men, woman die trying to rescue dog from cistern in Texas corn field-LoTradeCoin
Two men, woman die trying to rescue dog from cistern in Texas corn field
View Date:2024-12-23 22:43:10
Three people and a dog were found dead in a cistern in a Texas corn field on Wednesday, officials said.
Delvys Garcia, 37, Denise Martinez, 26, and Noel Vigil-Benitez, 45, were out hunting with a fourth person when one of their dogs fell into a cistern, the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said. Officials believe one person went into the cistern to rescue the dog and two others then entered to try and rescue the first person. The fourth hunter, an unidentified man, went to his truck to call 911 and get help.
Deputies arrived around 1 a.m. and found the underground cistern partially filled with water. The water level was "far below" the cistern's small opening, officials said. Strong fumes, similar to those of a septic tank, were coming from the cistern. There were no signs of life from the dog, woman and two men in the cistern when the first responders arrived.
Recovery efforts were hampered by the fumes, identified as hydrogen sulfide gas, and the stagnant water, the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office said. Hydrogen sulfide gas can cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory system, apnea, coma, convulsions, dizziness, headache, weakness, irritability, insomnia and stomach upset, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. First responders ventilated the cistern and also removed the water.
The recovery efforts were also complicated because the cistern was not stable, officials said. First responders tried to dig next to the structure, but abandoned the plan over concerns that breaching the side walls of the cistern would weaken it and make entry unsafe. A small drone was deployed to inspect the cistern's integrity.
An investigator from the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office was eventually lowered into the cistern to recover the bodies on Wednesday night.
Garcia, Martinez and Vigil-Benitez were from Florida. Their bodies were taken to the medical examiner's office by a local funeral home. An autopsy was ordered. The funeral home also took the dog's body.
- In:
- Texas
Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBS News.
TwitterveryGood! (1)
Related
- Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
- Trump’s lawyers ask judge to lift gag order imposed during New York trial
- Alec and Hilaria Baldwin to Star in Reality Show With Their 7 Kids
- Can you hear me now? Verizon network outage in Midwest, West is now resolved, company says
- Song Jae-lim, Moon Embracing the Sun Actor, Dead at 39
- How Biden’s new order to halt asylum at the US border is supposed to work
- Video and images show intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from California
- Walmart settlement deadline approaches: How to join $45 million weighted-grocery lawsuit
- Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
- Stock market today: Asian stocks trade mixed after Wall Street logs modest gains
Ranking
- Maryland man wanted after 'extensive collection' of 3D-printed ghost guns found at his home
- Big GOP funders sending millions into Missouri’s attorney general primary
- Geno Auriemma signs 5-year extension to continue run as UConn women's basketball coach
- Novak Djokovic Withdraws From French Open After Suffering Knee Injury
- Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
- Why Brooke Shields Is Saying F--k You to Aging Gracefully
- 10 Cent Beer Night: 50 years ago, Cleveland's ill-fated MLB promotion ended in a riot
- Baltimore Sun managing editor to retire months after the paper was sold
Recommendation
-
NFL Week 10 winners, losers: Cowboys' season can no longer be saved
-
Animal control officers in Michigan struggle to capture elusive peacock
-
Invasive fish with the head of a snake that can slither across land discovered in Missouri – again
-
NCAA tournament baseball: Who is in the next regional round and when every team plays
-
Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
-
Psychedelic drug MDMA faces FDA panel in bid to become first-of-a-kind PTSD medication
-
Watch Live: Attorney general, FBI director face Congress amid rising political and international tensions
-
Evangeline Lilly says she's on an 'indefinite hiatus' from Hollywood: 'Living my dreams'