The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a man on a working tugboat on the Neches River side of the county. Captain Joey Jacobs described the death as "unusual," though he was not releasing details on Tuesday.

He said deputies were called about 5 p.m. Monday to the 19000 block of Mansfield Ferry Road outside of Vidor. The road goes to the Neches River. Crew members had found a member of the crew dead.

Jacobs said the man is middle-aged and the identity is not being released until the next of kin have been notified.

Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Chad Jenkins ordered an autopsy. Jacobs said the results of the autopsy should be finished this week and will determine the cause of death, which will help detectives in the investigation.

The tugboat death on Monday comes after two separate shootings in Orange on Friday, with one being fatal.

The first victim in Orange was reported about 1 a.m. Friday. Officers with the Orange Police Department found a wounded young man who had been shot several times. He was found in a yard area of the 300 block of Burton Avenue near Second Street.

The man was taken to an area hospital in serious condition. Detectives have been unavailable to give more information on his condition or his name.

Then about 10:30 Friday night, a fatal shooting was reported at the Cove Terrace Apartments, which are operated by the Orange Housing Authority in the Cove area of the city. A man was shot and then pronounced dead at the scene by Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Joy Dubose-Simonton. Again, Orange detectives have been in the field investigating and unavailable for comment on the victim or circumstances of the shooting death.