UPDATE: Tuesday - 8:20 p.m. -
The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the man who was recovered from the Corpus Christi Ship Channel near Port Aransas.
According to the medical examiner, 25-year-old Jared Dale Hunt was the second person recovered from the ship channel following a boating accident around 5:30 a.m. on July 15.
The Corpus Christi Coast Guard issued a search on Saturday and launched an MH-65 helicopter and a 29-foot boat to comb the area. They suspended the search on Monday, however, officials were able to recover Hunt just two days later.
Hunt's family held a vigil for family and friends to attend on Tuesday night. It took place at Grace United Methodist Church in Calallen.
UPDATE: Monday - 2:45 p.m. - One of the men who was killed in a fatal boat collision on Saturday has been identified.
The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office has identified one of the victims as 50-year-old Colin Ocker. Ocker was on board a commercial pleasure boat when it was hit by a commercial tanker around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 15.
UPDATE: Monday - 10:45 am - A body was recovered Monday morning in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel near Port Aransas according to reports from Coast Guard. It's the same area where the Coast Guard says a commercial tanker boat collided with a commercial pleasure boat around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
The victim has not been identified.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
UPDATE: Sunday - 2 p.m. - The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for the missing boater near Port Aransas. Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and local partners searched by air and sea for nearly 44 combined hours and over 127 square miles were covered.
ORIGINAL STORY:
One man is dead and another missing after a commercial tanker collided with a boat early Saturday morning near the Lydia Ann Channel and Port Aransas Pass, the United States Coast Guard said.
The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. and involved what the Coast Guard calls a commercial pleasure craft. The ship channel is closed until further notice, and the Coast Guard continues to search for the missing man.
“Well, I was asleep, and I heard like one of those big, like a horn, a horn honking, maybe like two, three, four times," Patricia Ramirez, a visitor from San Antonio, said.
In a statement provided to KRIS 6 News from the Port of Corpus Christi, "Port PD is on-site assisting the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the lead agency in the search and rescue efforts. The Port remains committed to ensuring the safety of our waterways and will continue to support regional and state agencies as well as surrounding communities to evaluate any additional actions that could be taken to increase safety and security for all waterway users. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragic accident," A spokesperson from the Port of Corpus Christi said.
The Coast Guard is not releasing the names of the vessels involved.
Locals and visitors alike are shaken up about the accident.
“It’s just shocking how, you know, 5:30 in the morning, anything can happen. I’m super shocked," Aaron Marshall, a visitor from Austin, said.
Two others on the pleasure craft were injured. One was taken to Coast Guard station Port Aransas for treatment, and another was taken to a hospital.
This is a developing story. This article will be updated as new information is available.
