Texas man tries to save 10-year-old in Oklahoma river — then went under, officials say

When a Texas man noticed someone was swept away by a current in an Oklahoma river on Sunday evening, he attempted to save her, according to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

While trying to rescue the 10-year-old girl in the Red River, 36-year-old Antonio Salazar-Galicia “was pushed under the water and never resurfaced,” the report says.

The Denver, Colorado, girl was then rescued by someone on a “nearby boat,” officials said. People in the area revived her before she was taken to Texoma Medical Center, according to the report.

Salazar-Galicia’s body was found at about 6:30 p.m. by the Cartwight Fire Department — about an hour and a half after the drowning, the report says.

Salazar-Galicia, of Denison, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. This was about a quarter mile east of the Denison Dam in Bryan County, just north of the Texas-Oklahoma border.

The girl, whose name was withheld from the report, has since been released from the hospital, KFOR reported.

Trooper Scott King investigated the drowning.

He said the girl had been wading in the river’s “no swim” zone when the dam created “swirling waters” and pushed her away, KTEN reported.

“They can turn that dam on at any moment, so yeah, this is not a swimming area around here,” King said, according to KTEN. “It’s a nice beach, as you can see, but it’s not a swimming area and there shouldn’t be any children or adults in the water.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Texas man tries to save 10-year-old in Oklahoma river — then went under, officials say."