Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents are investigating a single vessel fatal boating incident that occurred on Dec. 3 in Natchitoches Parish.

LDWF agents learned that Jack Crowell, 37, of Natchitoches, was operating a 17-foot vessel in the Cane River in Natchitoches with his four-year-old son as a passenger.  Around 6:30 p.m., Crowell’s vessel struck a downed tree that was in the water ejecting him from the vessel while his son remained in the vessel.

There were vessels nearby with occupants that observed the boating incident.  These good Samaritans immediately called 911 for help and were able to load the son onto one of their vessels.  The good Samaritans then found Crowell in the river a few minutes later and were able to retrieve him from the water.

Emergency Medical Services and the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene and transported Crowell to the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.  He was then transported to Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport where he was pronounced dead around 1 a.m. on Dec. 4.

LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this fatal boating incident.  The son did not require any medical care and did not sustain any injuries.  Crowell was wearing a Type 5 personal flotation device (PFD) that is manually inflated and his PFD was not inflated when he was recovered from the river.  Crowell also had his engine cutoff switch attached to his PFD and it worked properly to shut off the motor after he was ejected.