Family friend, neighbor reflect on double drowning on private pond

Early Thursday morning, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office found the body of Omar Martinez in the bottom of a small private pond in the Falls Creek Ranch neighborhood in Bryan.

The devastating discovery came after the Bryan Fire Department found the body of a three-year-old boy in the lake on Wednesday night.

Erick Ramos knew Martinez as a family friend, who used to work in the same restaurant kitchen as his father.

"I came here because I just can't believe it," said Ramos. He admits although he didn't spend much time with Martinez, he will always remember him as a happy, loving person. Ramos says he saw the family just last week, at the grocery store.

"I saw his girlfriend, him, and his little three-year-old step-son, and they were really happy. So they were a really nice family,” said Ramos.

Neighbors in the area say it is uncommon for people to fish in the pond. Sergio Alvarez was the one who noticed an unfamiliar truck in the area, and could not find its owner. Then, he saw the mother of the three-year old looking for her son and Martinez.

"I don't know. It’s just hard. You know, I barely know this guy. It's just hard that something like this happened, especially for a young man and a little kid," said Alvarez.

"[Martinez] says ‘hi’ to everyone. He was never in trouble and now, this incident happened. I just can't believe it,” said Ramos.

Preliminary reports indicate both subjects died as a result of drowning. The investigation into this case is ongoing. No foul play is suspected.