BEAUMONT — Southeast Texas waterways draw boaters and fishermen for recreation, but Beaumont police and fire officials say those same waters can turn dangerous, leading to lives lost and search-and-rescue missions in often murky conditions.
Beaumont Fire Rescue and Beaumont Police are seeking City Council approval to pursue about $12,000 in grant funding from the Firehouse Sub Public Safety Foundation to buy four kayaks equipped with sonar.
District Chief Scott Wheat of the Beaumont Fire Department said kayaks themselves are not new, but the technology used with them has changed.
“Kayaks are not new. They’ve been around for years right. I mean several of us have them and we use them for fishing,” Wheat said. “But the technology has advanced so far with the underwater sonar, uh, side down imaging, uh, scanning software, and some of the new live scope stuff. You get fantastic views of the bottom surface.”
Wheat said the department is looking at a kayak with a pedal drive, but the full setup would include additional equipment.
“The kayak that we’re looking at right now provides a pedal drive, but we also have to be certain that we incorporate a paddle, a leash, the safety devices, the sonar equipment itself, the installation, the batteries, the switching, all of those things to get these kayaks where they’re ready to go,” he said.
Wheat said the kayaks would support victim recovery efforts and help investigators search underwater for evidence. “We do searches for victim recovery. And we also assist Beaumont PD and other local agencies in looking for evidence that may have been discarded underwater,” he said.
Officials say the sonar-equipped kayaks could help bring closure to families and aid criminal investigations by improving the ability to locate items beneath the surface.