Father, son rescued from capsized boat near Atchafalaya search

Posted: Dec 27, 2011 9:56 PM by Shawn Kline
Updated: Dec 27, 2011 10:26 PM

Two hunters found as search for Landry continues

A pair of hunters are rescued from waters dipping to almost 40-degrees. At the same time, the search continues for another missing hunter just a few miles away.

Lynn Landry has not been seen since December 20th. Another day of searching turns up empty but a pair of St. Mary Parish Sheriff's deputies were in the right place at the right time to save the lives of two other hunters on the Atcahafalaya.

"They had their cell phone in a zip lock bag where they could keep it dry and make a call for assistance." Deputy Bart Lang says that call "saved their lives."

For the last few days, Deputy Lang has searched the Atchafalaya Basin for Lynn Landry but before he left the dock, he received a different call; two other hunters needing a rescue team after their boat capsized just miles away from search parties.

"They both had hypothermia," Lang said. "One of them was a mild case, one severe. One of them was actually in the water, the other was hanging on top of the overturned boat hanging on to it."

58-year-old Russ Tircuit and his son, Michael, both of Addis were duck hunting just north of Patterson. Their boat capsized, flipping them into the frigid waters for about an hour until Deputies showed up.

Tircuit and his son were treated for hypothermia at a local hospital and released.

Now, the attention turns back to the search for Lynn Landry with about a half dozen other agencies helping out including the St. Mary, St. Martin, Iberia and Assumption Parish Sheriff's Offices, Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the US Coast Guard.

"The more people you have, the more eyes you have and the better chance of finding him," Lang said.

Wednesday will mark day 8 since Landry was last seen in this area and still no trace of him or his boat.