Man disappears in the waters of Elephant Butte Lake after saving wife

It was supposed to be a weekend getaway.

A family’s trip to Elephant Butte Lake over the Memorial Day weekend turned into heartbreak and despair.

As we reported Monday, New Mexico State Police were investigating a possible drowning.

A body has not been recovered and a family is looking for closure.

“I’ve been studying for a really big exam and he thought it would be a good idea to go out and have some fun with our daughter,” said Geri Villanueva.

Villanueva tells ABC-7 her husband, 37-year-old Dan Villanueva just wanted some time to relax with the family.

The couple have been married nine years and have a 4 year-old daughter. Family was also in from out of town to join the celebrations.

“He rented a pontoon boat for us and we went to one of the beaches,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva tells ABC-7 they enjoyed some tubing and boogie boarding. She also went for a dip in the lake.

“I jumped in the water and he gave me my boogie board and I was noticing that the wave was pushing me farther and farther away from the boat,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva tells ABC-7 she started to struggle getting back to the boat.

“No matter how hard I tried, I was pushed away so I yelled for help,” Villanueva said.

She says Dan was quick to respond and tried to put on a life jacket –but it was too small –possibly made for a child.

She tells ABC-7 her husband, an avid swimmer, jumped in without the life jacket and swam towards her.

“We would hang onto the boogie board we would tread our feet. We tried to swim, we couldn’t move, it’s like something was pulling us and we were sinking,” Villanueva said.

At that moment Villanueva says she knew they were in serious danger.

“The last thing I saw was him looking really afraid and a boat coming but that was the last thing I could remember,” Villanueva told ABC-7.

Geri was pulled out of the water by passersby. She says when she came to and asked for her husband, she was told no one else was in the water at the time.

Divers soon began the search for the body but after 72 hours they stopped the search underwater.

“If there’s any that could help us can find in their heart to keep searching for him it would help us find closure. Not having him here, not knowing where he is, not knowing what happened to him really hurts,” Villanueva said.

ABC-7 also spoke with Dan Villanueva’s mom and dad who are in from Michigan.
They say they can’t even find it in themselves to go back home at this point. They say they need closure.

Park Rangers say they sweep the area above water three times a day in hopes of finding a body.