I don’t know either of them personally, but as a peer I somehow feel obligated to share their mysterious story. As of Monday, two students at my high school simply disappeared. They were boating together on a local lake, Lake Livingston, and their watercraft was found abandoned and adrift, three miles from their launching point. The motor’s cover had been removed, as if they were inspecting something, but otherwise everything was in order. Except for their whereabouts.
Lake Livingston is a somewhat vast lake, spanning roughly 83,000 acres, and dotted with numerous small isles. It’s a popular vacation spot, as many families around here own or rent property on the lakeside. Currently, more than a hundred volunteers are searching the lake and its nearby woods, in hopes of finding them.
Theories abound as to what happened to them. A common thought is that the teens figured they had engine trouble for one reason or another, and decided to abandon ship. After abandoning, they presumably swam to one of the many small outcroppings of land. That’s really no problem, as the weather was fair last night. However, it may drop to freezing in the next two nights.
As I previously noted, I didn’t know either of them. The female of the couple was in my grade, and I knew of her. The male, a senior, was a student of my mother’s last year. Although on outward inspection my mother seems to be taking this in stride, she is now cleaning the house with much fervor. She’s clearly distraught.
I personally don’t know how to feel. I feel lost, and hopeless for them. As a pessimist by nature, I’m expecting the worst. Hopefully things will be all right.
For those of you with access to the Houston Chronicle:
