Teen dived into lake for friend’s shoe and never resurfaced, Louisiana police say

A 14-year-old Louisiana boy tried to do a favor for a friend, but it ended up costing him his life.

Charles Cooper went swimming at Lake Pontchartrain with friends and some cousins near New Orleans on Friday, when one of the group lost a shoe in the water, WDSU reported.

They all dived back in to find it, with Charles jumping the farthest, the outlet reported. But the boy never resurfaced.

A search was quickly launched to find the teen, with the New Orleans Police Department assisting the department of Wildlife and Fisheries, authorities said in a statement.

“He wasn’t even supposed to be there,” the boy’s mother told WWL. “Not my baby.”

The search continued for four days, until authorities found the teen’s body by Stars and Stripes and Hayne boulevards, the station reported, near where he went missing.

This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 2:46 PM.