Local man apparent victim of drowning
By Melinda L. Lucas
A washed-up kayak on the shore of McCarty Lake south of Albany Tuesday afternoon, April 25, together with the presence of a parked pickup nearby, triggered a three-day search for 58-year-old Kurtis Ray Smith of Albany that ended with the recovery of Smith’s body from the lake on Friday morning, April 28.
Shackelford County Game Warden Jacob Mort said he was notified about the situation Tuesday evening after a deputy had checked the scene and felt that a search was in order.
“Family members had not been in contact with Kurtis for about a day, but a local resident reported to me that he had seen him early Tuesday morning heading out to the city lake,” said Mort.
That was not unusual for Smith, who was known to be an avid fisherman and kayaker.
Game wardens from several surrounding counties brought in boats with special sonar equipment, said Mort, who explained that the game wardens took the lead role because it was a water search, but assistance came from the sheriff’s department and DPS troopers with drones.
“The support from the community was overwhelming. So many people wanted to help,” Mort said. “We did ask Jacey Shack to fly over the lake to give us another vantage point, but for the most part, it was better to limit the searchers to law enforcement because we could concentrate on what we were doing and not have to worry about the safety of volunteers.”
After the first full day of searching, Mort said that he and other officers were confident that Smith was in the water.
“We saw nothing to indicate foul play or that he had left the lake,” Mort said.
The game warden stated that he and county sheriff Ed Miller conferred on Thursday night and had agreed that in the event Smith wasn’t found on Friday, aircraft from Austin with special technology would be brought in to help with the search.
Friday was also the day when a group of local volunteers and family members planned to start a ground search, but game wardens located Smith’s body before that got underway.
It is believed that he fell out of his kayak while fishing or checking a trotline and drowned.
