Search and rescue crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Coast Guard found the deceased body of a missing boater in Vermilion Parish today, June 16.
Search and rescue crews retrieved the body of Ernest Hebert, 79, of New Iberia around 5 p.m. about a half mile from the Oaks Canal in Vermilion Bay.
Search and rescue crews received a call around noon about the missing boater. The crews learned that a boat had sunk in Vermilion Bay outside of Oaks Canal along the Northshore of Vermilion Parish earlier in the morning with two people on board.
One of the boaters was rescued by a Good Samaritan shortly before noon. Once on board the Good Samaritan’s vessel, the rescued boater was able to relay information to authorities that Hebert was missing.
LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this boating incident. Hebert was found without a personal flotation device. LDWF will continue to search for the sunken vessel, which is believed to be an aluminum flat bottom vessel.
Hebert’s body was turned over to the Vermilion Parish Coroner’s Office.