STPSO: Two Rescued After Becoming Stranded While Craw-fishing

Members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Operations Division, with the assistance of Louisiana

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Coast Guard, rescued two individuals who went missing while crawfishing in the Pearl River area.

A 48-year-old man from Iberville Parish and a 56-year-old woman from Ascension Parish were reported missing by family members when they did not return after going craw-fishing late Friday (April 17, 2020) night in the Lower Pearl River basin.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Sunday to assist with the search for the two individuals. Early Monday (April 20, 2020) morning, deputies located the man’s truck and boat trailer under the Interstate 10 bridge at the Middle Pearl River. STPSO deputies and Wildlife and Fisheries agents began searching on foot and by boat, and the U.S. Coast Guard utilized its helicopter to assist in the search.

At approximately 9:15 a.m. Monday, the two were spot by air in the area of Steamboat Bayou. Due to heavy foliage and water levels, it took deputies and Wildlife and Fisheries agents another three hours to reach them by boat. Once on land, the two were checked out by medical personnel and were found to be in good condition.

The two had become stranded after their boat became disabled because of the low-water conditions and vegetative debris in the bayou.

“This is indeed a happy ending,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “And it is due to the cooperation and the sharing of resources between these three agencies that these two people were located and brought to safety.”