'In my 16-plus years I've never seen a drowning victim who was wearing a life jacket'

Divers with the Arlington Fire Department pulled the latest drowning victim of this short summer from the waters of Lake Arlington about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Phillip Poynter, 47, of Balch Springs, was found in the south end of Lake Arlington near the power plant, submerged beneath 16 feet of water, according to authorities.

Poynter was fishing with family members and fell from his boat about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, went under and never resurfaced. The search for Poynter was launched about 8 p.m. from the Richard Simpson Park boat ramp near the Fort Worth border.

Crews from the Arlington Fire Department and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department used sonar devices to pinpoint what they believed was Poynter's body about midnight, said Capt. Cliff Swofford, Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesman. Emergency responders then marked the area for further investigation, Swofford said.

Recovery operations had been suspended due to darkness. They resumed Wednesday morning when members of the Arlington Fire Department dive team went in and brought up the body, according to Swofford.

Poynter was not wearing a life jacket, officials said.

"In my 16-plus years I've never seen a drowning victim who was wearing a life jacket," Swofford said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel have recorded as many as 10 lake drownings in the area so far during a summer that officially began on Friday, Swofford said. Three have drowned in Lake Grapevine in the span of a few weeks, Swofford said.

Extra personnel from the Parks and Wildlife Department will staff area lakes this July 4th to prevent more tragic outings, Swofford said.

"There are a lot of strong swimmers that get in trouble out there," Swofford said. "So I can't implore enough that people please wear a life jacket or that they have one handy in case someone they know gets in trouble."

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 6:18 PM with the headline "'In my 16-plus years I've never seen a drowning victim who was wearing a life jacket'."