Search and rescue crews have recovered the body of a Westlake man at 6:30 a.m. today, July 22 near the vicinity where authorities found the body of his fishing partner and capsized vessel on the west bank of Lake Charles in Calcasieu Parish.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) agents along with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a report of two missing boaters on Lake Charles on July 20 after 10 p.m. According to family members, William R. Druilhet Jr., 22, of Lake Charles, and Christopher Rollins, 25, of Westlake, were out fishing and last made contact shortly before 10 p.m.

Search and rescue crews searched throughout the night and found their 16 foot vessel capsized on the west bank of Lake Charles at 4:30 a.m. on July 21. Authorities then found the body of Druilhet at 4:50 a.m. on July 21 near the boat and Rollins at 6:30 a.m. on July 22 also near the boat.

Authorities found Druilhet wearing a personal flotation device and Rollins without a personal flotation device. Both bodies of Druilhet and Rollins were turned over to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office to determine a cause of death.

LDWF has recovered the vessel and will be the lead investigative agency for this boating crash incident.

Authorities Recover Boater’s Body from Lake Fordoche

Search and Rescue officials recovered the body of a Central man from Lake Fordoche in St. Landry Parish on July 20.

Search crews from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office and the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office were notified about a capsized vessel and a missing boater in Lake Fordoche, which is a tributary north of Henderson Bay, around 9:50 a.m.

The body of Allen Fontenot, 66, was found by search crews around 1:30 p.m. in the near vicinity of the capsized vessel.

According to the survivor, the two men were in a 21 foot boat when they hit a stump that caused the vessel to capsize. The survivor was able to swim to the shore.

Fontenot was not wearing a personal flotation device and his body was turned over to the St. Landry Parish Coroner’s Office. LDWF has recovered the vessel and will be the lead investigative agency for this boating crash incident.