Jose Luis Vazquez-Varela, 25, of Austin could not swim, but authorities found his body Sept. 8 in Lakeway swimming pool waters as murky as the confusion surrounding his death.

 Vazquez-Varela reportedly had been part of a work crew remodeling a vacant house in the 400 block of Malabar.
He and another worker stayed at the house after the crew finished its work for the day and entered the shallow end of the house’s swimming pool, according to Lakeway Police Department reports.
Neither man could swim, but Vazquez-Varela somehow made his way into the deeper end of the pool.
“He was jumping around in the shallow end of the pool. He got down into the deep end and got into trouble,” Lakeway Police Chief Gordon Bowers said.
Det. Mary Proctor said she suspected the victim panicked.
“The other worker was with him and he did try to get him out with a hose, but was unable to reach him,” Proctor said.
The other man attempted to contact neighbors across the street, but no one answered the door.
He then drove his vehicle to the Chevron Station at 13006 Texas 71 and Rural Route 620 in Bee Cave where he dialed 9-1-1.
Because he was in Bee Cave, the call went out at 5:28 p.m. to that city’s police dispatcher who attempted to determine the pool’s location from the man who was reportedly unfamiliar with the area.
“There was a language barrier and some confusion by the witness on where and how to get back to the scene,” Proctor said.
The dispatcher heard him say a word that sounded similar to Malabar and then contacted Lakeway police.
Upon returning to the area, the caller directed units to the scene. They arrived at the pool at 5:57 p.m. and found the victim’s body in the pool, police said.
“When they went back, the water was real cloudy,” Bowers said.
Lakeway police said Sept. 10 that the investigation was pointing to an accidental drowning.