New Mexico Man Drowns Near New Braunfels Tube Chute
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A 62-year-old man from Farmington, New Mexico, drowned today near the New Braunfels Tube Chute on the Comal River.
In a statement, New Braunfels police said at approximately 3:15 p.m. they responded to a report of a man who had gone under the water and did not immediately resurface.
Officers and paramedics arrived to find that lifeguards and citizens had pulled Albert L. Aranda from the water. Lifeguards performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
Aranda was transported to Christus Santa Rosa-New Braunfels, where he was pronounced dead.
Next of kin has been notified, and Comal County Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Mike Rust ordered an autopsy.
The man’s death is being investigated as an accidental drowning, pending the results of the autopsy.
To learn more about safety issues surrounding the tube chute, click here.
Due to the strong current in and around the chute, it is recommended that weak swimmers wear lifejackets to help keep them safe, according to information on a City of New Braunfels website. Shoes are also recommended as rocks and broken glass in the river can easily cut bare feet.
I grew up in New Braunfels and graduated from high school in 1960 in a class of 160 students. I left New Braunfels in 1964 when I got married and moved to Monterey Ca where my husband, who was in the Air Force, went to the DLI in Monterey. We then went to Italy for a couple years, and a few other places there after Italy. I now reside in Florida and will remain so for the foreseeable future…New Braunfels will always be a special place…..though I prefer to remember it as it was when I lived there.