A single boat incident in the Gulf of Mexico south of Cameron Parish led to the death of a 19 year old man this morning, April 6.
Search and rescue crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Vermillion Parish Sheriff’s Office, Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard were notified of two missing boaters last night, April 5. Search crews searched throughout the night and into the morning.
The search crews found Shane Marin, 19, of St. Martin Parish, and Derek Romero, 19, of Iberia Parish, around 9:30 a.m. in the water near their partially sunken 18 foot aluminum boat about 10 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.
On the way back to shore where Acadian Ambulance was standing by, LDWF agents performed CPR on Romero as he didn’t have a pulse. Agents arrived with the men to the shore at Joseph’s Harbor at the Rockefeller Refuge around 9:50 a.m. and continued to assist Acadian Ambulance and other search and rescue crews with CPR until the Air Medivac arrived on scene around 10:45 a.m.
Romero was air lifted to South Cameron Hospital where he was later pronounced dead around noon. Marin was taken to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital and is in stable condition.
Both men were found wearing a personal flotation device. LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this boating incident. The cause of death and why the boat sunk is not yet known.
For more information, contact Adam Einck at 225-765-2465 or aeinck@wlf.la.gov.