SABINE PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The bodies of two fishermen who went missing on Toledo Bend over the weekend have been found and identified, according to the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The two fishermen were reported missing around 3:30 p.m. Saturday after going fishing Friday near Solan’s Camp on the north part of Toledo Bend Lake. They never returned home.
The body of 61-year-old George Diboll of Oakdale was found Saturday night between a boat lane and the shore just south of the Solan’s Camp area.
The search continued Sunday with help from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Fort Polk, but the sheriff’s office says it was a United Cajun Navy volunteer using sonar and chartplotter electronic equipment that ultimately found and marked the location of the fishermen’s 18′ aluminum vessel.
Sheriff Aaron Mitchell says the boat was sitting on the bottom in about 17′ of water between an island and a boat lane in the main part of the lake.
Recovery efforts began early Monday morning with help from the Desoto Parish Fire District 1 Toledo Bend Search & Recovery Team. The sheriff’s office says TBSR divers attached large airbags to the vessel and brought it close to the surface. High winds and choppy lake conditions made recovery efforts difficult and time-consuming.
The boat was eventually towed to the Solan’s Camp boat launch by the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Marine Unit with help from Louisiana Wildlife Agent vessels.
The other fisherman’s body was found miles away late Monday afternoon near Holly Park Marina off Carters Ferry Road near Milam on the Texas side of the lake. He was identified as 61-year-old Marvin Parsons of Lafayette.
The sheriff’s office says this incident is under investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.
Autopsies have been ordered to determine the fishermen’s exact causes of death.
These are the third deaths this month in Toledo Bend. Last week, one man drowned and another was hospitalized after high winds sank their boat on March 6. Rescuers found the surviving fisherman clinging to a stump. Both were wearing personal flotation devices. Their boat has not been recovered.
