The U.S. Coast Guard called off a search yesterday for a boater who went missing near Vermilion Bay; the United Cajun Navy search continues.
Brandon Boutte, 49, of New Iberia, was boating with a friend in the bay Friday when the 16-ft aluminum boat they were in capsized, the USCG says.
After searching for 66 hours and covering 3,680 square miles, the USCG suspended the search Sunday evening.
The Coast Guard has confirmed that Boutte was a prior Coast Guard member, and they sent us this quote:
"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."
Coast Guard assets assisting in the search efforts were USCGC Moray, USCGC Daniel Tarr, a Air Station New Orleans MH-60 aircrew, a Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 aircrew and Station New Orleans Response Boat-small boatcrew.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Sector NOLA at (504) 365-2209.
The United Cajun Navy posted that they were working on the search and they tell us that they continue to search for Boutte. Here's their post:
