Another drowning at City Beach Park leads to a closure of the park, city officials say

A drowning in Lake Granbury on Wednesday night prompted city officials in Granbury to temporarily close City Beach Park while they implement improved safety measures, the city said.

In recent weeks two people, David Anthony Chavez, 31, of Cleburne and Michar Deon Harrison Jr., 22, of Fort Worth, have drowned in Lake Granbury and the city wants to more aggressively address the safety of its visitors, city officials said in a news release.

"We at the City of Granbury would like to extend our deepest sympathies and offer our prayers for the family and friends of the two men who have drowned in Lake Granbury in recent weeks," the news release said. "In light of these tragic events, the City has temporarily closed City Beach Park."

Chavez was reported missing at 7:49 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Granbury police. Chavez and his 15-year-old daughter were both swimming on tubes back toward the beach when he went under and drowned.

On June 16, at 5:20 p.m. Granbury police officers responded to a call of a possible drowning. When officers arrived, two juvenile witnesses told police that Harrison was swimming toward the boardwalk when he appeared to be having some trouble before he got there, police said.

The witnesses said that once they saw him go underwater they jumped in the water to try and rescue him, while another person standing on the boardwalk. called 911. By the time the witnesses got out to the point in the water where he was last seen, he was already underwater and they were unable to locate him, police said.

Later, three police officers located Harrison at the bottom of the swimming area in approximately 10-12 feet of water. Officers pulled him to the surface where crew of a Granbury Fire-Rescue workers lifted him out of the water and onto their vessel.

He was immediately transported to the Lake Granbury Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead as a result of drowning.

During the park’s closure the city plans to install perimeter buoy markers at depths of 5.5 to 6 feet, develop a crowd capacity policy, engage with a security company to help enforce the existing City Beach Park safety rules, and collaborate with the Brazos River Authority and state and local fire and law enforcement agencies to ensure safety.

The city of Granbury has not listed a timetable for the park's reopening.

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Another drowning at City Beach Park leads to a closure of the park, city officials say."