Coast Guard leads search for missing MS Coast shrimper near Chandeleur Sound
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching by air and water for a Mississippi Coast shrimper who has not been seen since he apparently fell overboard Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
His daughter, Jennifer Fra, said two crew members aboard a shrimp boat called for help after her father, Lam Tra, 56, went missing around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
She said Tra was working with the two other crew members on the boat.
“They don’t even know what happened,” she said. “They assumed he went overboard. They didn’t see him on the boat, and his phone was gone.”
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Anthony Randisi confirmed the search Wednesday, saying crews received a report of a missing man near Chandeleur Sound, later identified by family members as Tra.
Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile have air crews searching, and the Coast Guard station in Gulfport has vessels in the water looking for Tra.
Additional agencies are assisting in the search, Randisi said.
Tra’s daughter described her father as a “very good swimmer” but said “the fact that they haven’t found him yet kind of worries me.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 2:26 PM.
