[Skip to Content]
Dispatch Non-Emergency 325.657.4315

Police Investigate Mother's Day Drowning at Ben Ficklin Dam

At Approximately 4:08 p.m. on May 13, 2018, San Angelo Police and Fire Department personnel were dispatched to the Ben Ficklin Park, 4751 Ben Ficklin Road, for the report of a drowning.  

Fire Department Medics arrived on scene at approximately 4:12 p.m.; however, the victim was already deceased.  He was later identified as Damien King of San Angelo.  It was King’s birthday. 

Justice of the Peace Fred Buck responded and formally pronounced King’s death.  Judge Buck’s preliminary findings were consistent with accidental drowning.  An Autopsy was ordered. 

Detectives and Technicians with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and Crime Scene Investigations Unit responded to the scene.  Pursuant to the field investigation and multiple interviews with bystanders and witnesses, it was learned King had been swimming with a group of friends when he became separated from them.  When King failed to make it back to the shoreline, his friends discovered him face down in the water.  

The official cause and manner of death are pending the autopsy.  

###