The body of a local man drowned Sunday afternoon was recovered early Monday morning from the Llano River arm of Lake LBJ not far from the RR 2900 bridge in Kingsland.

Orvel Morris Jr., 36, of 192 Whitaker in Kingsland was swimming from a property owner park boat ramp about 300 yards west of the bridge when friends noticed he was in distress, but were unable to reach him in time, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) Captain Kevin Davis.

The incident was reported to the Llano County Sheriff’s Office at 5:30 p.m., Sunday and the search was soon joined by TPW, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and rescue divers of the Kingsland Volunteer Fire Department.

Game Warden Ronnie Langford was first on the scene from TPW to assess the drowning with eyewitnesses.

Divers were hampered by low visibility in the murky water where the Llano River joins the Colorado River to form Lake LBJ.

“There was not a lot of success with diving, but the divers tried hard,” said Davis. “The LCRA had side scan sonar capability, but they were unable to locate him.”

The victim’s body was recovered in a dragging operation about 7:30 a.m. Monday and has been transported to the Travis County Medical Examiner for autopsy.

The last drowning death on Lake LBJ was July 29, 2007, when an 18-year-old counselor and lifeguard at Camp Champions drowned.

“We wish it had been longer,” said Davis.