Chaos erupts when fishing boat capsizes with 6 aboard. Two died, Louisiana cops say

Two bodies found in a Louisiana lake have been identified as boaters who went missing when a fishing charter boat flipped with six people aboard, according to state investigators.

Macy Richard, 27, and Jerilyn Hebert, 57, vanished Tuesday, May 28, in the Pirate’s Cove area of Toledo Bend Lake. The lake is a 181,600-acre reservoir along the Louisiana-Texas state line.

“According to the survivors, five customers chartered a fishing boat with a fishing guide on Toledo Bend Lake,” the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries said in a May 29 news release.

“The wind and waves quickly picked up around 11:50 a.m. and a wave hit the pontoon boat causing it to capsize sending all six people into the water. The guide was able to call 911.”

State wildlife officers arrived within 10 minutes and found the guide and three passengers “clinging to the capsized vessel,” officials said.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death for Richard and Hebert. Both lived in Opelousas, about a 155-mile drive southeast of the lake, officials said.

The two victims were a mother and daughter, according to multiple posts on social media.

Boaters report weather on the lake was treacherous the day of the accident.

“We were on Toledo the same day and when I tell y’all the weather was terrible, it looked like a tornado blowing through,” Keely Brook Trasher posted on Facebook.

Toledo Bend Lake has a maximum depth of 110 feet, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 7:47 AM with the headline "Chaos erupts when fishing boat capsizes with 6 aboard. Two died, Louisiana cops say."