2 teens drown as they try to save 5-year-old girl struggling in river, Texas cops say

Officials have recovered the bodies of two teen boys who jumped in a river in Texas to save a struggling 5-year-old girl, police say.

Several people were swimming in Trinity River in Liberty County when a 5-year-old girl began struggling in the water around 7:15 p.m. Sunday, KFDM reported.

The girl’s father jumped in the river along with two teen boys, ages 17 and 18, who were not related to the family, KHOU reported.

Investigators say the teens became distressed while trying to reach the girl, went under the water and never resurfaced, according to the outlet.

The father reached the girl and was able to pull her to safety, KFDM reported. He ingested a lot of water in the process and was taken by air to a hospital in Houston, according to the outlet.

Officials searched for the teens into the night before their bodies were discovered in the river Monday morning, Bluebonnet News reported.

Liberty County Sheriff’s Capt. Ken DeFoor referred to the two teens as “good Samaritans,” according to the outlet.

DeFoor said the area of the river where the incident occurred is particularly dangerous for swimmers because it appears calm but is known to have an irregular and strong undercurrent, KHOU reported.

Large signs used to be posted along the edge of the river warning people not to swim, but they’ve since been torn down to be used for camp fires, KFDM reported.

Liberty County is just northeast of Houston.

This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 3:56 PM with the headline "2 teens drown as they try to save 5-year-old girl struggling in river, Texas cops say."