By Sarah Raslan and Harvey Rice
The Houston Chronicle
TEXAS CITY, Texas — Twin 9-year-old girls died Sunday, swept away by strong currents during a much-anticipated family outing to the reopened Texas City Dike beach.
Their father, 33-year-old Hector Suarez, remained in critical condition after unsuccessfully trying to rescue his daughters.
“We are very devastated,” said Linda Lopez, the girls’ aunt. “I don’t know if we will ever recover from this. This is a horrible thing that has happened to our family. These were babies, they were only 9.”
The girls, third-graders from southeast Houston, dashed out of the car to start swimming as soon as the family arrived on the windy Sunday morning.
“They loved the ocean and they loved Texas City and Galveston,” Lopez said. “The girls went in to chase the waves and got swept in.”
Suarez rushed into the water to try to save the girls, but was also pulled in by the current. An off-duty member of the Coast Guard then attempted to rescue the family, but was swept in as well, Texas City Fire Department Capt. Steve Strickhausen said.
Relatives said no signs warning about dangerous currents were posted on the beach. “There’s no yellow or red flags indicating the rough current,” Lopez said. “There really should be though.”
When a Coast Guard marine safety unit patrolling the beach arrived, a rescuer went in but found the water too rough, Texas City Police Capt. Brian Goetschius said.
A rescue swimmer from a Coast Guard helicopter found the father and placed him in a rescue basket, Goetschius said. He was taken in critical condition to Mainland Medical Center.
One of the girls — Alexandra Suarez — was recovered unresponsive and pronounced dead at 11:16 a.m., a relative said.
Eight-hour search
Scores of emergency personnel, including Coast Guard boats and a helicopter, spent more than eight hours searching for her twin sister, Samantha. Her body was found by a Texas City police officer near the shoreline around 6:15 p.m.
Relatives were grief-stricken. “We are trying to find light in the situation, but there really isn’t any,” Lopez said.
The curly-haired third-graders had already picked their Halloween costumes, family members said. Alexandra was going to be Hannah Montana and Samantha was going to be Hello Kitty.
“They were girly-girls,” Lopez said. “They loved to play dress up and pose for the camera. They were the light of the family.”
Family members were waiting Sunday night at the hospital, praying for Suarez’s recovery.
His condition was beginning to improve, giving them hope he will survive.
“He has a normal heart rate now,” Lopez said. “The only concern now is that only half of his brain is functioning.”
Copyright 2010 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company