Initial autopsy finds recent college grad from Texas drowned in Bahamas

By Ava Turnquest

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASSAU, Bahamas(AP) _ An autopsy in the Bahamas has determined that a Texas man drowned in the island chain last month, a police spokeswoman said Monday.

The unclothed body of Mason Hart, from Katy, Texas, was found in waters near Abaco’s Scotland Cay on July 29. The recent graduate of Texas Tech University had moved to the Bahamas several weeks ago to work on a sport fishing boat.

Police spokeswoman Terecita Pinder said the initial autopsy findings are “consistent with drowning.”

A coroner’s court will now be tasked with confirming the cause of the 24-year-old’s death, she said.

A dinghy Hart had been travelling in and his personal belongings have not been found. His body was found roughly 24 hours after he last spoke to family and friends from the archipelago off Florida’s east coast.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to fund an effort to bring Hart’s body back to the U.S. and support his relatives. It described him as “driven, passionate, sweet and loved by many.”