Texan teenager Kaden Forke, 14, dies after falling in the back of a boat that lost control on Lake Austin
- The body of missing teenager Kaden Forke was recovered from Lake Austin on Monday following a boating accident days before he was due to start high school
- Forke was on a boat with six other people when he got a lot of control while going over the wake of another boat and crashed into a bank
- Four other people were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries
The body of missing teenager Kaden Forke was recovered from Lake Austin on Monday night following a boating accident, officials have confirmed.
The 14-year-old died just days before entering freshman year at Lake Travis High School.
Forke was on a boat with six other people when he lost control crossing the wake of another boat and crashed into an embankment.
Four other people were taken to local hospitals with serious injuries.
The Lake Patrol Unit and Dive Team from ODA, Lake Med EMS, the Austin Fire Department and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife have begun an extensive search and rescue operation recovery, but unfortunately Forke was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kaden Forke, 14, died just days before entering freshman year at Lake Travis High School
The Lake Patrol Unit and Dive Team from ODA, Lake Med EMS, the Austin Fire Department and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife have begun an extensive search and rescue operation recovery, but unfortunately Forke was pronounced dead at the scene.
Forke was on a boat with six other people when he got a lot of control while going over the wake of another boat and crashed into a bank
Speaking at a Monday press conference, Captain Darren Noak of Austin-Travis County EMS said “with a lake as narrow as it is, it gets very crowded very quickly.”
“You get a lot of cross currents and a lot of cross wakes so if you just plow the lake as fast as your boat will go you could have an accident.
Adding: “Even if you go slow, you can have an accident.”
A lakeside witness, James Wood, told Fox 7 “It looked like a tall cypress tree had been cut in half at the thickest part, and the boat was hanging above it in its branches. “
“The sinking had just happened and there was already a dive team there who told me that someone was probably missing or underwater,” he told the outlet.
Forke attended Hudson Bend Middle School and was a member of the Audio Visual Production/Broadcast program.
In a statement, the principal of Lake Travis Elementary said the loss of Forke was a “tragic loss to our school community.”
“Kaden is what we call an ‘LT Lifer.’ He began his academic journey as a pre-kindergarten student at Lake Travis Elementary.
Forke, pictured with his family in May before tragedy struck
Speaking at a Monday press conference, Captain Darren Noak of Austin-Travis County EMS said “with a lake as narrow as it is, it gets very crowded very quickly.”
“In May, Kaden graduated eighth grade at Hudson Bend Middle School where he participated in sports and was a member of the Audio Visual Production/Broadcast program.
“His mother, Jennifer, is currently an overseer at LTE,” the statement read.
A GoFundMe was set up to help May with funeral and memorial costs, and by Friday night it had raised nearly $30,000.
