Port Arthur rescue workers spent the better part of Saturday morning looking for a person who was last seen struggling to stay above water along a fishing pier on North Levee Road on Pleasure Island.
The victim's body was recovered by a Port Arthur Fire Department Water Rescue team around 10 a.m.
The victim has been identified as Christopher Ramirez, 26, of Port Arthur.
Around 1:11 a.m. Saturday, police received a call saying a person fishing from the pier dropped something in the water. The victim's uncle, Joe Delgadillo, says Ramirez was fishing with his girlfriend when he dropped his wallet in the water and jumped in to get it. Delgadillo says the girlfriend could not reach Ramirez and ran to call 911 after he started calling for help. According to police, the girlfriend lost sight of Ramirez when she returned to the pier.
A rescue team went to the pier but had to suspend their search until daylight.
Delgadillo says Ramirez still had his steel-toed boots on when his body was recovered.
"We're assuming that's what pulled him under," said Delgadillo. "We're all in shock... it's going to take a while to really understand what really happened, and losing someone you really care about, it's a hard thing for anyone."
Justice of the Peace Marc DeRouen pronounced Ramirez dead at the scene. An Autopsy has been ordered.
