Search for 4-year-old hampered when clay dam bursts in Louisiana park, officials say
Louisiana authorities suffered a setback in the search for a 4-year-old boy who went missing in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park late last week.
Recovery efforts stretched into a week on Wednesday, a day after a temporary dam built to drain the canal where the boy is thought to have gone missing gave way, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said in an update. Crews started work on the clay dam Monday after the National Park Service signed off on it, NOLA.com reported.
The recovery effort focuses on a 500-foot section of the waterway. Authorities believe the child may have fallen in the water when his mother’s back was turned.
“Unfortunately, our efforts to pump out the area of interest in the canal were not completely successful,” according to a statement posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page. “We lost the clay dam earlier tonight, and the original water levels returned quickly.”
The boy, identified by family members as Ellis Baudean, was visiting the park with his mom and younger sibling when he disappeared around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, WVUE reported, citing police.
The park and nature preserve is located in Marrero, less than 10 miles southwest of New Orleans.
The area is “swampy, covered in dense vegetation, and teeming with potentially dangerous wildlife, including snakes and alligators,” authorities have said.
By damming off part of the waterway, crews hoped to drain the area and possibly locate Ellis’ body. A clean up at the search site has already started, WWL-TV reported, as crews work to remove what’s left of the dam.
“We’re human beings like everybody else,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said, according to the news station. “We put forth our best effort ... we got a lot accomplished, but unfortunately mother nature can win if she wants to.”
Lopinto also thanked B&S Equipment, the National Park Service, St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office and countless others who volunteered their time and energy to the effort.
Authorities said they will continue their search, utilizing a remote-operated vehicle and sonar technology.
Despite the setback, police said their efforts “were not in vain.”
“We were able to drain about half the water from the search area,” according to the sheriff‘s office post, “which allowed us to check the root systems on the banks, alligator dens along the waterline, subsurface dens, culverts, and overhanging banks that were previously underwater.”
Police said foul play is not suspected in the boy’s disappearance.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Search for 4-year-old hampered when clay dam bursts in Louisiana park, officials say."