On July 5, 2024, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to a drowning in the Trinity River, below the Lake Livingston Dam. Detectives investigated reports that 31-year-old Israel Hernandez entered the river to assist family members caught in the current.
Search efforts by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, alongside Texas Game Wardens, continued for several days. On July 10, 2024, Hernandez's body was recovered. An autopsy has been ordered by Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 Judge Richardson, with the body sent to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
