Pair drown after boat flips on Sam Rayburn

Two League City men drowned on Lake Sam Rayburn Saturday afternoon after their small boat flipped over.

Authorities recovered the bodies of Elijah Paul Eliott, 26, and Kirk David Cox, 23, on Saturday and Sunday.

According to Jasper County Sheriff Ronnie McBride, several witnesses reported the two had fallen out of their boat at approximately 10:30 a.m. Saturday. McBride said investigators believe the pair's trolling motor had become tangled with a trout line and they were attempting to loosen it when the boat flipped.

McBride said both men appeared to have been wearing heavy coats and boots when the boat flipped. He said neither man was wearing a life jacket.

"We found a cooler but we feel like if they would have had life jackets we would have found them," McBride said.

He also said the pair's 14-foot aluminum boat had "no business being on the lake during those rough conditions."

Winds on lake were reported very high making the water very choppy at times.

The pair had set up camp at an RV park on FM 1007 and had planned on staying there until Sunday morning.

Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel found Eliott's body at 1:45 p.m. Saturday by a Jasper County Emergency Corps's rescue diver while Cox's body was located Sunday morning.