Authorities recover second body following fatal boating trip

Published 10:24 am Tuesday, March 15, 2022

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Search and rescue crews recovered a second body and a vessel from Toledo Bend on Monday.

The body of Marvin Parsons, 62, of Lafayette, Louisiana, was recovered at 3:30 p.m. The 18-foot vessel was also recovered around this same time.

Search crews had earlier recovered the body of George Diboll, 62, of Oakdale, on Toledo Bend at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents were notified around 3:30 p.m. Friday about two overdue boaters in Toledo Bend.

According to friends, the two missing boaters launched their 18-foot vessel around 10 a.m. Friday from Solan’s Boat Launch to fish.

LDWF agents along with the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office, DeSoto Fire and Rescue Dive Team, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the U.S. Army at Fort Polk, and volunteers all assisted in the search and recovery of the two bodies and the vessel.

Agents suspect bad weather led to this fatal boating incident.

The weather Friday changed mid-day as a cold front pushed through making the temperature in the high 20s and nearly 30 mile per hour winds.
LDWF agents are the lead investigative agency for this fatal boating incident.

The bodies of Diboll and Parsons were turned over to the Sabine Parish Coroner’s Office to determine an official cause of death.