PORT FOURCHON, La. (WGNO) — Crew members from the capsized Seacor Power vessel are still missing today. This weekend search and rescue teams made it onto the vessel to begin recovery efforts.
As missions continue this morning, search and rescue teams are looking for a total of eight crew members that have not been located yet. Divers are planning to get back onto the vessel again today.
The families are standing by hoping to hear something promising. Many of them though, feel like there are only more questions and still no answers.
After speaking with family members of the missing crew, they’ve confirmed that another body was found over the weekend but, it’s so “badly decomposed, it cannot be identified.”
So, that puts the numbers at six rescued, five confirmed dead, and eight still unaccounted for.
Thursday, one body was retrieved from the water 33 miles away from the scene. He has been identified as Ernest Williams. Friday, two more bodies were recovered, this time from the vessel.
Arlana Saddler is the sister of missing crew member Gregory Walcott. She tells WGNO, that their family is frustrated not knowing what happened and says, no one will give them the reality of the situation but, she is still hopeful.
“He knows that we love him. We don’t have to tell him that. We’re hoping that he comes home to us. We’re hoping for anything,” Saddler said.
- The Lafourche Coroner’s Office is confirming that the four identified dead as:
- 63-year-old Captain David Ledet
- 69-year-Ernest Williams
- 53-year-old Anthony Hartford
- 55-year-old James Wallingsford
- The one unidentified body is confirmed by a family member
With calm conditions in the forecast, the families are hoping the divers will have better success and surface with more answers.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, and Seacor Power will brief the news outlets today at 1:00 p.m. We will have more updates on our website following the presser.