VERMILION BAY, KATC - Search and rescue efforts for a missing boater in Vermilion Bay continue.
The search now left entirely up to the United Cajun Navy after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its 66-hour operation after covering 3,680 square miles.
Friday evening, Brandon Boutte, a boater and former Coast Guard member, went missing after his 16-ft aluminum boat capsized.
On Friday, easterly winds became gusty around the area, causing tides to increase to 1 ft over normal according to NOAA.
The U.S. Coast Guard told KATC,
"We offer our deepest condolences to Brandon's family and friends in this incredibly heartbreaking time,” said Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Walsh, USCG Sector New Orleans, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator. “The decision to suspend a search is never made lightly. We are grateful to have rescued one survivor and thankful for the exhaustive search efforts carried out by our Coast Guard crews and local agency partners."
They joined the rescue two hours after the suspension, around 4 p.m. Sunday evening.
“It's an area where the rips are strong but it was particularly strong that day. We only do this at the request of law enforcement, coast guard, or from the family directly,” United Cajun Navy Coordinator Kevin LaFond said.
LaFond remains optimistic. "We take on a mission after evaluating them. How long have they been missing, what's the likelihood for success in some form. Is there more time that we believe should be spent doing this and all of those came back in the affirmative so we went ahead and got started right away,” he said.
United Cajun Navy is primarily searching near the eastern part of Marsh Island. "One of the pluses and minuses of that area is that there are alot of river deltas so it kind of puts a lot of debris in the water. When you're searching from there sometimes you can't tell the difference between a person and a piece of debris but that debris also lends itself to self rescue sometimes,” LaFond said.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the other boater who survived in this case swam to a nearby unmanned oil platform and reported the situation to the Vermillion Parish Sheriff's Office via cell phone. He was later picked up from the oil platform by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries via boat.
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