Missing Boater’s Body Located in Lake Pontchartrain

Members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office Marine Division located the body of missing boater, Billy Coile, Monday (January 16, 2023) afternoon approximately 3/4 of a mile offshore near Green Point. The body has been turned over to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, who will make a determination on the cause and manner of death.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. Sunday (September 8, 2023), the Causeway Police Department contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office after a 12-14 foot Boston Whaler boat was found floating under the bridge near the 23-mile marker. The boat was unoccupied. The registered owner of the boat told deputies a friend, 44-year-old “Billy” Coile of Mandeville, Louisiana had borrowed the boat to go fishing Saturday (January 7, 2023) afternoon.  His pickup was located Sunday morning at the Mandeville Harbor.

Deputies with the STPSO Marine Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, had searched the area of the lake between the Mandeville shore and the Causeway bridge until dark Sunday. 

Sheriff Randy Smith offers his condolences to Coile’s family and his sincere appreciation to the STPSO Marine Division, the STPSO Dive Team, Wildlife and Fisheries and the countless volunteers who never gave up, searching from daylight to dark and using every resource available, every day for over a week, to bring closure to this family.