The US Coast Guard, 8th District, announced this afternoon that the search has now been called off to find the missing mariner who was aboard a small boat that was hit by a much larger aluminum boat, the Miss Laurie. That mariner, whose name has been withheld, is dead. The press release does not indicate how he or she died or whether he or she was pulled from the water, though that appears to be implied.
Yesterday’s press release indicated that the Guard was unsure how many mariners had been onboard the small aluminum-hulled vessel, but today it was clear that one mariner had been onboard and killed. The Miss Laurie is a 36-foot skully aluminum hulled boat.
The Coast Guard ended its search at 9:45 a.m., the statement said.
Yesterday, it was announced that the mariner was on the vessel that sank after a collision in the Houma Navigational Canal near Cocodrie, La., also yesterday. The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office located and recovered the mariner’s body about 9:30 a.m. today.
Coast Guard crews searched for approximately 27 hours, covering more than 72 square miles, in an effort to locate the missing mariner, according to the press release. “While the Terrebone Sheriff’s Office conducted underwater searches, the Coast Guard closed the Houma Navigational Canal to all maritime traffic,” said the 8th District.
At approximately 7:40 a.m. yesterday, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call from the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office saying a vessel collision had occurred near Cocodrie in the Houma Navigational Canal. The Miss Laurie collided with the smaller boat, killing the mariner on that vessel apparently, at the intersection of Bayou Petit Caillou and the Houma Navigational Canal.
Assets used to attempt a recovery were:
- a Coast Guard MH-65C helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans;
- a Coast Guard 26-foot Aids-to-Navigation boat and crew from Coast Guard ANT Dulac;
- a Coast Guard 24-foot shallow water response boat and crew from Coast Guard Station Grand Isle;
- a Coast Guard 25-foot response boat and crew from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Morgan City
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also assisted in the search.
The Coast Guard reopened the Houma Navigational Canal to all maritime traffic. The cause of the collision is under investigation, according to today’s press release.
To read the press release online, please click here.
