Body of 12-year-old thrown from boat found in Lake Borgne

Mandeville girl reportedly not wearing PFD when Shell Bayou accident occurred.

The body of a 12-year-old Mandeville girl thrown from a boat during an Shell Bayou accident Saturday (July 16) was located today (July 19), the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported.

The body of Samantha Vinturella was found shortly after 11 a.m. in Lake Borgne about five to six miles from the original boating crash incident site, the LDWF news release reported.

Vinturella was ejected when the 15-foot boat in which she was a passenger and a 20-foot boat collided, LDWF has said.

The smaller boat was operated by 48-year-old Paul Battle of Mandeville, and three other juveniles also were thrown from the boat. Battle was not thrown from the boat, but was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

Reportedly, all the juveniles in Battle’s boat except Vinturella were wearing life jackets and were quickly picked up by another boat.

News reports have cited officials who say Battle could face charges because Vinturella was not wearing a life jacket. State law requires all boaters 16 years old and younger to wear PFDs whenever the boat in which they are riding is under main power.

The second, larger boat was operated by 61-year-old Marion Funchess of Folsom, LDWF reported. Neither Funchess nor his sole passenger received any major injuries, the agency reported.

LDWF will be the lead investigating agency for this boating crash incident to determine a cause of the collision and death, according to LDWF Enforcement Division Col. Winton Vidrine.