Tracking dogs help find missing fisherman’s body

The body of a missing Pass Christian fisherman believed to have fallen backward off a seawall has been recovered after a two-day search.

Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said the body of Anthony Edward Palode, 60, was found Wednesday morning in the mouth of the Pass Christian Harbor.

His cause of death has been ruled an accidental drowning.

“A lot of his family members were at the scene when he was found,” Police Chief Tim Hendricks said.

“We did everything we could do to find him.”

The search began after a report about 2 a.m. Tuesday that a fisherman had fallen off the seawall. Police and rescue teams in boats searched more than 12 hours Wednesday until the boats were called back in due to choppy waters and wind.

Palode’s family members waited with others at the Pass Christian Yacht Club for two days.

The Gulf Coast Search and Rescue team had brought four or five dogs that were trying to track Palode’s scent. The dogs had shown an interest in the area where he was found, Hendricks said.

Divers from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources were getting ready to search that area when Palode’s body surfaced at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, Hendricks said.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Tracking dogs help find missing fisherman’s body."