Body found in search area for missing Mississippi Coast shrimper, official says
One week after a Mississippi Coast shrimper was feared to have fallen overboard, a body has been found in the Chandeleur Islands.
The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office recovered a body Tuesday from parish waters near the Chandeleur Islands shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.
No identification has been made on the body.
The search by air and water for Lam Tra, 56, a former Biloxi resident now living in D’Iberville, began after two crew members aboard the shrimp boat called for help after Tra went missing around 4 p.m. Tuesday, his daughter Jennifer Fra said. Tra was working with two other shrimpers at the time.
Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile had air crews out searching for Tra and the Coast Guard station in Gulfport has vessels in the water looking for Tra. The Coast Guard suspended the search at 8:21 p.m. Wednesday.
Around 3:30 p.m. Monday, deputies received a call in reference to a body seen in the water nearly 50 miles off the coast of St. Bernard, but still within parish waters.
Recovery efforts began at 5 a.m. Tuesday, as the offshore location made nighttime operations unsafe and significantly reduced visibility for search efforts.
The body was recovered by the Sheriff’s Office Marine Division in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard, Cajun Navy and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and will be transported to the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office for an autopsy.
The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff said.
