Search and rescue teams successfully completed a rescue mission on May 22 in Vermilion Parish.
Search and rescue teams from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), St. Mary’s Parish Sheriff’s Office (SPSO), Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office (IPSO), Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office (VPSO), Vermilion Parish Constable’s Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard were alerted around 3:15 a.m. from family members on May 22 about an overdue boater in Vermilion Parish.
The teams immediately began searching the area with LDWF, SPSO, IPSO and the VPSO in vessels, the U.S. Coast Guard in a helicopter and airplane and the Vermilion Parish Constable’s office in a vehicle.
Around 8:30 a.m. the U.S. Coast Guard observed a stranded vessel on the beach of Southwest Pass. LDWF agents arrived at the beach and observed a person standing on the beach with a swamped vessel nearby. LDWF agents coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Vermilion Parish Constable’s Office to reach the individual.
The Vermilion Parish Constable’s Office was able to reach the individual in a pickup truck on the beach. The U.S. Coast Guard then airlifted the person onto their helicopter and they transported him back to his vehicle at the Quintana Boat Launch.
No injuries have been reported from this incident.
According to the survivor, he went to go boating on May 20 and got disoriented and ran out of gas when his boat got swamped and beached at Southwest Pass. He also said his phone battery died.