Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents successfully rescued a missing hunter from the Thistlethwaite Wildlife Management Area (WMA) on Oct. 10 in St. Landry Parish.
LDWF agents were notified about a missing person on Oct. 9 around 11 a.m. Agents learned that a 69-year-old went squirrel hunting on the Thistlethwaite WMA on the morning of Oct. 8 and did not return.
LDWF agents immediately began searching the area and found the missing hunter’s vehicle on Peckham Road inside the WMA. Agents searched the WMA overnight and into the morning.
An LDWF agent on an all-terrain vehicle found the missing hunter walking on a trail around 11 a.m. on Oct. 10. The agent gave the missing hunter some water and transported him by ATV back to his vehicle.
Acadian Ambulance transported the missing hunter to the Mercy Regional Medical Center in Ville Platte to be treated for non-life threatening symptoms.
LDWF agents participating in the search were Agent Hayden Byrd, Sgt. Tyler Smith, Lt. Lance Devillier, Corporal Jason Sanchez, Captain Ryan Faul, Lt. Cullom Schexnyder and Sgt. David Boudreax. The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and their K9 unit also participated in the search.