CG works w/ ports; body found

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard is working to reopen the ports and waterways throughout SE Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. Capt. Will Watson, CG captain-of-the-port for the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) is working in coordination with federal, state, parish, city and maritime stakeholders to safely reopen maritime traffic along the Mississippi River and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Some key areas along the river remain closed as recovery operations continue. CG crews conducted post-storm port assessments to ensure maritime commerce is safe to resume. CG crews are working with port partners on the identification and mitigation of grounded and submerged vessels along banks of the Lower Mississippi River. 

CG SEARCHING FOR TEEN NEAR DESTIN  

MOBILE, Ala. - The Coast Guard and partners are searching Sept. 2 for a 14-year-old boy who went missing while swimming at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin, Fla. The boy was last seen wearing gray shorts. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department contacted the CG about 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 1 and reported that the boy’s friends last saw him struggling to swim in the surf 200 feet offshore before going under water. He did not resurface, according to the report. CG Sector Mobile issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew from CG Station Destin, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from both Air Station New Orleans and the Aviation Training Center in Mobile; and the Cutter Ridley, a patrol boat homeported in Panama City. Crews are still searching the area for the teenager, which include the sheriff’s office, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, and local lifeguards. Anyone with information about this case, are urged to call the Mobile, Ala., command center at (251) 441-6211. (Source: Coast Guard 09/02/21)

UPDATE 1 

CG ENDS SEARCH FOR TEEN NEAR DESTIN

The Coast Guard ended its search Sept. 2 for a 14-year-old boy who was last seen swimming at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin, Fla. A beachgoer found a body matching the description of the missing boy on James Lee Beach at 2:22 p.m. (Source: Coast Guard 09/02/21)