Lafayette Daily Advertiser
Searchers find bodies, helicopter
INTRACOASTAL CITY (AP) — The bodies of two men were found on Saturday with the wreckage of a missing helicopter in the shallow waters of Vermilion Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard said. One body is still missing.
A civilian helicopter spotted the wreck sometime before 6 p.m., ending a three-day search for the Omni Energy Services helicopter, said Petty Officer Nick Cangemi, a Coast Guard spokesman. The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office went to the site in a boat about 6 p.m. to recover the bodies and continues to search for the third, he said.
The helicopter went down in a shallow, muddy area of Vermilion Bay about two miles southeast of Intracoastal City, Cangemi said.
The bodies that were found are not identified, but those on board were the pilot, Dan Ditwlier, 51, of Tennessee and passengers John Lewis, 50, of Lafayette and Kell Anthony Thibodeaux, 39, of Abbeville. Lewis and Thibodeaux reportedly worked for a petroleum company.
Although the Coast Guard has called off its search, Cangemi said, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office is continuing to look for the third body.
The Omni helicopter sent a mayday call at 1:50 p.m. Thursday during stormy weather about 25 miles south-southeast of Intracoastal City.
The Coast Guard said the helicopter, identified by Omni spokesman Tim Timperio as a Bell 206L-1, left Eugene Island at about 12:58 p.m. en route to Abbeville and then changed course to Intracoastal City about 40 minutes later.
On Saturday morning, heavy winds, thunderstorms and low visibility hampered the search, Cangemi said.
Very sad. Thoughts and prayers for them and their loved ones.