A body pulled from the East Fork of the Trinity River on Sunday is confirmed to be that of a kayaker missing since last week, the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office says.
The sheriff's office said they were notified Sunday morning of a possible missing person who was believed to have gone kayaking on the Trinity River.
Anthony Villarreal's family reported him missing after they found his vehicle on Saturday parked under the U.S. Highway 175 bridge in Crandall, where he was known to kayak. According to a report from the sheriff's office, Villarreal had been missing since June 19.
Rescuers said his kayak was found tangled in trees six miles south of the bridge where his car was located.
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Dallas Fire-Rescue Swift Water Rescue Team launched a boat from the Farm-to-Market Road 3039 bridge, about three miles south of U.S. 175, and found Villarreal's body about 300 yards upstream.
Villarreal was pronounced deceased by a Kaufman County judge, and his body was sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office in Dallas for an autopsy, according to the report.
The Crandall Fire Department, Dallas Fire-Rescue's Swift Water Rescue Team, and the Texas Department of Public Safety assisted in Villarreal's recovery. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will lead an investigation into the death since Villarreal is believed to have drowned on a public waterway in Texas.
