Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and U.S. Coast Guard personnel recovered the deceased body of a Prairieville man from Lena Lagoon in St. Bernard Parish this morning, Feb. 7.
The body of Freddie Dufrene, 70, was recovered around 10:15 a.m. and turned over to the St. Bernard Parish Coroner’s Office to determine an official cause of death.
According to the survivors of the boating incident, Dufrene was an occupant in a vessel that left out of the Hopedale area to go to Lake Borgne around 6:30 a.m.
In Lena Lagoon the operator made a sharp turn to avoid running into the bank, which subsequently ejected the operator and Dufrene into the water. Another occupant on the vessel was able to get control of the vessel and retrieve the operator from the water.
Before the survivors could get to Dufrene, he went under the water and never resurfaced. The survivors called for help and LDWF, St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office and USCG arrived shortly thereafter to conduct a search for Dufrene.
LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this fatal boating incident. The men ejected from the vessel were not wearing personal flotation devices at the time of the incident.