Search and rescue crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office recovered the deceased body of an Arnaudville man from a St. Landry Parish waterway on June 16.
Search and rescue crews recovered the body of Arron M. Baber, 22, around 10:15 p.m. on June 16. Authorities received word around 8:30 p.m. of a single boat incident on Bayou D’Arbonne.
According to the operator of the 14 foot aluminum vessel he and Baber were traversing Bayou D’Arbonne when they got distracted and the vessel struck a railroad bridge piling in the water ejecting Baber into the piling and water.
The operator was able to swim back to the bank to a witness of the incident and call authorities.
LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this boating incident. Agents sent in a toxicology test on both the operator and Baber. Neither man was wearing a personal flotation device. Baber’s body was turned over to the St. Landry Parish Coroner’s Office to determine a cause of death.