CENTERVILLE, LA — Deputies with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office found two people who had been missing for several days after a fisherman spotted them Monday morning on a platform in Lake Sand. The pair had last been seen Oct. 1, and investigators had been working to piece together what happened after a vehicle was found at the Cabot Boat Ramp.
Sheriff’s officials said the two survived their time outdoors and were alive when deputies reached them. Their discovery ended a search that involved local, state and federal agencies and began after investigators learned the people had gone out on a shrimp boat that became disabled at an unknown location.
Vehicle found at Cabot Boat Ramp and shrimp boat disabled at unknown location
According to the sheriff’s office, the missing pair were using a dark-colored jet ski to reach the shrimp boat in an effort to tow it. Deputies said the boat later became disabled somewhere that has not been identified, leaving investigators to trace their movements from the boat ramp to the water.
The discovery of a vehicle at the Cabot Boat Ramp gave deputies a starting point as they searched for signs of the two people. The sheriff’s office did not say how long the vehicle had been there, but that detail helped push the case from a missing-person report into a wider search on the water and surrounding area.
Search effort brought together local deputies, Coast Guard and wildlife agents
A coordinated search effort started Saturday and included the sheriff’s office Marine Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Each agency brought different resources to the effort as crews worked through the weekend without a confirmed location for the missing pair.
The involvement of several agencies reflected how difficult the search had become. Deputies were trying to locate two people linked to a disabled shrimp boat, a jet ski and a boat ramp vehicle, while also covering water and marshy areas connected to Lake Sand and nearby waterways.
Fisherman’s radio call on Monday morning led deputies to the platform
The breakthrough came Monday morning when a fisherman saw the two people on a platform in Lake Sand and radioed the U.S. Coast Guard with the information. Deputies in the area heard that radio traffic and moved quickly to the platform after the report came in.
Officials said the response was immediate enough to confirm the sighting and reach the pair before the search could continue any further. The fisherman’s call became the key development in the case, connecting the search teams already on the water with the exact place where the missing people had taken shelter.
Sheriff’s office says the pair were alive after days exposed to the weather
Deputies said the two people had been in the elements for the last several days but were alive when found. That detail underscored how long they had been unaccounted for and how exposed they were while waiting for rescuers to reach them.
The sheriff’s office has not released additional details about their condition beyond confirming they were alive. Officials also have not said where the shrimp boat first became disabled or how the pair ended up on the Lake Sand platform before the fisherman spotted them.
What investigators have said so far about the missing trip
So far, investigators have outlined a sequence that began with the pair last being seen on Oct. 1, continued with the discovery of a vehicle at the Cabot Boat Ramp and led to a search on the water starting Saturday. From there, the case was narrowed by the fisherman’s Monday morning sighting.
The sheriff’s office has described the incident as a successful recovery rather than a criminal case, and the available details point to a maritime emergency tied to a disabled shrimp boat. Officials have not said whether any further medical evaluation or follow-up with the pair was required after they were found.
Lake Sand discovery ends several days of uncertainty for search teams
The discovery on Lake Sand brought an end to several days of uncertainty for the agencies involved and for anyone tracking the missing-person case. Deputies, Coast Guard personnel and wildlife officers had spent the weekend trying to locate the pair without knowing exactly where they had gone after Oct. 1.
By Monday, the search had shifted from broad coordination to a confirmed rescue location. The sheriff’s office said the pair were found alive, closing the immediate emergency and leaving unanswered only the details of how their trip became stranded in the first place.
When the weather turns dangerous, SVH Snow is watching.
