17-year-old dies after he’s thrown off horse into a retention pond, Louisiana cops say
The body of a 17-year-old police say was thrown from a horse was found in a Louisiana retention pond Tuesday.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told local outlet KATC that the teen was riding the horse in the water when it got spooked by something and threw him off.
The teen fell into the retention pond and didn’t resurface, and the horse darted off, KLFY reports.
Guidroz said the pond “ranges from 3-20 feet in depth, and is about half an acre big,” KATC reported.
The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office says it got a 911 call around 5:47 p.m. about a possible drowning at the pond, which is near Beau Chene High School in the Grand Coteau and Arnaudville area.
Crews responded to the area and searched the pond for the teen, the sheriff’s office says.
The sheriff’s office said late Tuesday night that his body was found.
A retention pond is designed to hold rain and other water runoff.
Officials told Opelousas Daily World they believe the teen drowned but that an autopsy will be completed to determine the cause of death.
No additional information was released Wednesday.
St. Landry Parish is in southern Louisiana, about 62 miles west of Baton Rouge.
