PORT ARANSAS, Tx. (KLFY) — Reports have surfaced that the U.S. Coast Guard has found personal belongings of missing Seacor Power crewmember Dylan Daspit along the Texas coast.
U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Cory Mindenhall of Houma confirmed to News 10 that a lifeguard on the beach found a hardhat with the last name “Daspit” on it.
The Delcambre native’s hard hat may be the most significant piece of debris found in quite a while. It’s causing volunteers to have a serious discussion about where they search next.
“Has the hard hat changed our ideas on the search? That answer is yes,” admitted Gulfcoast Humanitarian Efforts Vice-President Christifer DeRouen.
Thursday, evidence of debris to the east of the capsized Seacor Power had the non-profit convinced preparing to head East of the vessel was their next move, but with news of Dylan Daspit’s hardhat being discovered, volunteers gathered at Daspit’s father Scott Daspit’s home Friday night to decide whether returning somewhere they’ve already been for a more thorough search is the best move.
“This man is doing everything he can to find these men considering one of them is his boy,” DeRouen said of Scott Daspit who is president of Gulfcoast Humanitarian Efforts.
DeRouen explained, “It’s kind of part of the process. Taking in all the information from all the boats and what they’ve seen. If they’ve come across debris or what debris, how much debris, and where we go from there.”
Some volunteers believe the hard hat was likely hanging on a rack outside the galley then carried so far by the winds and waves because it is so lightweight it floats stating it’s unlikely anything heavier could travel that far.
On the other hand, their mission is to leave no stone unturned so even a long shot may be worth it.
“Our guys have got to be somewhere. We’re going to try to answer that question for everybody,” DeRouen concluded.
The search effort runs completely on donations. If you would like to donate to the effort or toward the families of the crew, click here.
Port Aransas is nearly 600 miles from the site of the Seacor Power capsizing. The discovery illustrates just how difficult searches can be in the Gulf of Mexico.
The missing crewmembers of the Seacor Power include:
- Dylan Daspit, 30, of Breaux Bridge
- Jay Guevara, 35, of Lafayette
- Chaz Morales, 37, of Slidell
- Gregory Walcott, 62, of Abbeville
- Jason Krell, of Texas
- Darren Encalade, of Belle Chasse
- Cooper Rozands, of Houma