14-year-old found dead in river after he and friend fall from boat, Texas cops say

The body of a 14-year-old set to start high school in the fall was pulled out of a Texas river following a Memorial Day boating accident, cops say.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Conner Curtice fell out of the boat on the Neches River on Monday, May 29.

Conner and the 18-year-old operator of the boat were trying to fix a leak in the vessel, and the two went overboard when the boat jerked, according to KBMT.

“The operator was wearing a kill switch. He came back up and got back into the boat,” Capt. Ryan Hall with Texas Parks & Wildlife told KDFW. “He saw the 14-year-old face down on top of the water, but he was too far away to get to him quickly. The 14-year-old slipped underwater.”

Crews searched for Conner until Tuesday, May 30, until his body was recovered around 6 p.m. The sheriff’s office said search and rescue teams used sonar technology to find Conner.

“Our family’s hearts are broken” Conner’s aunt, Cynthia Hernandez Hunter, told The Port Arthur News. “One good thing about our family is how close were are as a family. We support each other and set out to get things done.”

Conner was entering his freshman year at Port Neches-Groves High School, according to a GoFundMe.

The Port Neches-Groves Independent School District said it is “hurting for the loss of one of our own and for his family.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2023 at 11:32 AM with the headline "14-year-old found dead in river after he and friend fall from boat, Texas cops say."