Body of missing BR man found on Lake Maurepas
Search crews found the body of a missing Baton Rouge man on Lake Maurepas shortly after 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Taylor Russell, 26, was reported missing around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesman Adam Einck said in a news release.
Search crews from the Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the scene within minutes, Einck said.
According to other passengers in the 24-foot ski boat, Russell jumped from the boat while they were traveling across Lake Maurepas.
The passengers said they never saw Russell resurface and called 911 shortly thereafter.
Russell reportedly went into the water between where the Amite and Blind rivers feed into Lake Maurepas. The boat’s operator said the group was returning from the Blind River, where they had launched on the Tickfaw River to go home, Einck said.
Russell’s body was recovered about a half-mile from where he was reported to have gone into the water; his body was turned over to the Livingston Parish Coroner’s Office to determine a cause of death, authorities said.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division will be the lead investigative agency, Einck said.