Update June 16, 2020: The body of Crosby Firefighter Kent Zavala has been found.
Texas EquuSearch posted the following statement on Facebook Tuesday morning:
“We have sad news to report. Members of Texas EquuSearch have recovered the body of 20-year-old Kent Zavala. We ask that everyone keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”
Original story:
By Laura French
GALVESTON, Texas — Rescuers are searching for a Texas firefighter who was ejected during an off-duty crash Sunday night.
Crosby Firefighter Kent Zavala, 20, and his dog were thrown into the water underneath the I-45 Galveston Causeway after a three-vehicle crash that caused the Jeep he was in to slam against a guardrail, according to KHOU.
The dog was rescued by boaters, but only Zavala’s shoes and hat were founding floating in the water.
Galveston Island Beach Patrol, Galveston Police and Galveston Fire personnel, along with Coast Guard boat and helicopter crews, searched for Zavala overnight. Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit search and rescue organization, also joined the search on Monday.
Authorities say two other men in their 20s who were in the Jeep at the time of the crash were critically injured, and that it is unclear who was driving and if any of the men were wearing seat belts.
Zavala, who was reportedly planning to join the Houston Fire Department, was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and white shorts, is about 6-foot-4, weighs about 198 pounds with a muscular build, and has long, curly brown hair, brown eyes and a Texas tattoo on his chest.
https://www.facebook.com/txeqorg/posts/3492905274075205?__tn__=-R