Casandra Kendrick San Antonio Texas woman dies after pulling a father’s two children to safely at Guadalupe River after she & Victor Villanueva were pushed downstream by strong current.
A Good Samaritan has died and a missing father’s body has been recovered after a Texas woman rescued the man’s two children who were struggling against a current along a river.
The body of 22-year-old Casandra Kendrick was found Sunday night in the Guadalupe River near her hometown of Seguin, about 35 miles northeast of San Antonio, according to the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon having pulled in the father’s two children from the river, Kendrick set out to try to rescue the struggling man, only for water to push them both downriver, the sheriff’s office said.
The body of Victor Villanueva, 30, also of Austin, was found by search operatives, just on 2:56 p.m. Monday afternoon KENS5 reported.
Villanueva had spent Sunday with his three children on the island in the middle of the river, popular for swimming and tubing. Kendrick was also there hanging out with about 20 family members.
Posted warning signs
At around 5pm, two of the man’s sons got caught in a swift current, with the father jumping into the water in a bid to rescue them, according to the Seguin Gazette.
Kendrick, who was with the separate group, went after the man and his children to help.
The father was able to grab one of his sons and pass him to Kendrick, who then handed the boy off to another person.
The father performed the same maneuver with his other child, only to then himself struggle in the current.
Both the man and woman eventually disappeared beneath the surface near the FM 1117 bridge, prompting relatives on the island to summon help.
Divers recovered Kendrick’s body just before 8.45pm on Sunday.
Family and friends took to Facebook on Monday to mourn Kendrick’s death.
‘She died saving lives,’ posted one relative. ‘What a beautiful soul. Now she will be watching over y’all. So sorry for y’all loss. Prayers to all.’
A GCSO spokesperson said anyone that’s going to do any type of water activity any time of the year needed to understand the dangers. He said there’s a warning sign posted in the area of the river where Villanueva and his children were swimming and that they’ve had several water rescues in the area.
The two children are now with family members, GCSO said. Their current condition is unknown.
