Missing hunter located on Sabine Island WMA

Vinton man became disoriented after Monday hunt, LDWF says

A 74-year-old Vinton hunter who became turned around while hunting on Sabine Island Wildlife Management Area was found alive early this morning (Nov. 6), the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries reported.

Virgil Conway, who had left at 5 a.m. yesterday (Nov. 5) for a hunt on the WMA, was located at 12:15 a.m., the LDWF said.

The LDWF's Enforcement Division was notified at 6:45 p.m. yesterday that Conway was overdue, and the agency immediately coordinated a search effort with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, Ward 7 Fire Department and volunteers who knew Conway and the areas he usually hunted, the LDWF said.

Searchers located Conway's boat at 7:30 p.m. last night, and the hunter was found at least a mile away shortly after midnight.

Conway told authorities he became turned around and couldn't find his way back to his boat, and then found a place to stay until help arrived, the LDWF reported. He shot two of the three shotgun shells into the air after dark in an effort to alert searchers of his location.