LDWF, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Coast Guard searching for missing angler
Two anglers died in separate boating incidents yesterday, and a third man is missing, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries reported today (July 21).
In the first accident, the body of 66-year-old Allen Fontenot of Central was recovered on Lake Fordoche in St. Landry Parish, the LDWF said. Lake Fordoche is north of Henderson Bay.
According to a survivor of the accident, the two men were in a 21-foot boat when a stump was struck, causing the boat to capsize, the agency reported. The survivor swam to shore, the LDWF reported.
The LDWF said Fontenot was not wearing a life vest, and his body was discovered about 9:50 a.m.
In the second incident of the day, 42-year-old William R. Druilhet Jr. of Lake Charles and 25-year-old Christopher Rollins Westlake were reported missing some time after 10 p.m. last night, the LDWF said.
Druilhet’s body was found at 4:50 a.m. near the boat, the agency reported.
Family members reportedly said the two men were out fishing and last made contact shortly before 10 p.m.
LDWF agents, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard responded.
Druilhet was wearing a personal flotation device, and his body was turned over to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office to determine a cause of death.
LDWF has recovered the vessel and will be the lead investigative agency for this boating crash incident.
Click here to read the final outcome of this accident.