Sunken boat and two bodies end 3-day search for missing fishermen, Louisiana cops say
The bodies of two fishermen were pulled out of a lake on the Texas-Louisiana border after a three-day search, officials said.
George Diboll, 61, and Marvin Parsons, 61, had gone on a fishing trip on March 11 at Toledo Bend Lake and didn’t return, according to a Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office news release posted on Facebook.
Choppy waters and bad weather may have been a factor in the incident, which also resulted in their boating sinking, according to a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries news release.
“The weather on March 11 changed mid-day as a cold front pushed through making the temperature in the high 20s and nearly 30 mile per hour winds,” state wildlife officials said.
The search began once the two men were reported missing at 3:30 p.m. on March 12.
Sheriff’s deputies, wildlife agents, Army personnel and volunteers participated in the search at Solan’s Camp boat launch in the Ebarb community, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Dibol’s body was recovered around 8 p.m.
On March 13, searchers found the fishermen’s aluminum boat — an 18-footer — with the help of sonar equipment. The boat was at the bottom of the lake, under 17 feet of water, according to deputies.
Desoto Parish Fire District 1’s Toledo Bend Search & Recovery Team helped retrieve the boat from the bottom of the lake on March 14 using airbags and towed it to shore, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies also located the body of Parsons on the afternoon of March 14. Parsons was found near Holly Park Marina on the Texas side of the huge lake on the Sabine River, miles away from the original search area, according to the sheriff’s office.
The cause of the death will be released following an autopsy from the Sabine Parish Coroner’s Office, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The incident remains under investigation.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Sunken boat and two bodies end 3-day search for missing fishermen, Louisiana cops say."
