UPDATE: Sheriff Bobby Guidroz confirms that the body of a teenager has been recovered from a retention pond near Beau Chene High School. The sheriff has identified the victim as 17-year-old Jacory Levier.
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St. Landry Parish deputies are investigating a possible drowning near Beau Chene High School.
Deputies received a call of a possible juvenile drowning in the pond shortly before 6 p.m., a spokesperson says. Authorities are currently searching the pond for the juvenile, believed to be a 17-year-old male. A diver was in the pond and crews were dragging the water as of 9 p.m.
According to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, the 17-year-old was riding a horse in the water when the horse was spooked; the teen fell off the horse into the pond and didn't come back up, Guidroz said. He was with a group of other teens behind the school and those individuals are currently being questioned by deputies to rule out foul play, said the sheriff.
The pond ranges from 3-20 feet in depth, and is about half an acre big, Guidroz said.
The horse the teen was riding took off and was seen by deputies running across Hwy 93.
Guidroz said the teenager's parents are on the scene with authorities, and added deputies are confident they will locate the teen sometime Tuesday night.
The teen isn't believed to be a student at Beau Chene High.
KATC's Victor Jorges is on the scene and will update with more information when it becomes available.
Note: Authorities initially reported that a body had been located in the pond. That information has since been corrected; deputies say no body has been found.
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