BALLINGER, Texas — After a lengthy search by multiple agencies, the body of a man who fell into the Ballinger Municipal Lake was recovered late Monday morning, the Ballinger Police Department said.
Sunday afternoon, the BPD was called by someone reporting a person yelling for help at the lake. The caller told dispatch four people were farther out in the lake and one person went down and had not resurfaced. Witnesses told police the group was walking on the sandbar in the middle of the lake when the man suddenly went down under the water.
The caller told dispatch she saw his head go under and not come up at around 5 p.m. The Ballinger Volunteer Fire Department immediately searched for man with help from a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden.
Several boats were launched, using sonar and drones to look for the missing man. The search went throughout the night until it was unsafe for responders to continue.
The search resumed at about 6:30 a.m. Monday. At around 11 a.m., the body of 20-year-old Ronal E George Soriano was recovered from the lake.
Police say Soriano has been a Ballinger resident for approximately six months. He was originally from North Richland Hills.
"The Ballinger Lake is real low at this time," the BPD advises. "There are areas where you are able to walk out a distance into the water."
After getting witness statements, it is believed Soriano was walking in the water, fell in a deeper part of the lake and did not know how to swim. No alcohol was involved.
The BPD was assisted by the Ballinger Volunteer Fire Department, City of Ballinger personnel, Ballinger Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services, Runnels County Sheriff's Office and a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game warden.
