Mom, two daughters drown as she tries to pull them from rough surf, Louisiana cops say
A mother and her two daughters drowned after being caught up in rough waters off the coast of Louisiana, news outlets reported.
A 3-year-old boy was found walking by himself along the beach in Cameron Parish when campers and neighbors noticed him, according to KPLC.
“All the camps are up on pilings, so they ran down there to see why he was by himself and he told them his momma went in the water, so that’s when they called 911,” Cameron Parish Sheriff Ron Johnson told Louisiana Radio Network.
The Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office received the call March 12 and began a large-scale search and rescue operation, according to KFDM.
Authorities found a 28-year-old woman, 7- and 8-year-old girls, and a 9-year-old boy in the water. They were pulled from the water and then airlifted to hospitals, KPLC reported.
The mother and her two daughters died at the hospital, Johnson told KFDM. The 9-year-old boy is alive and in critical but stable condition.
Johnson told news outlets he believes the mother likely saw her children struggling with the strong waves and current against the rocks and went in to help them.
“It was low tide, and when they went out during the afternoon, the north side of the rocks is only a sandbar,” Johnson told KFDM. “The water likely pulled her out, and the three others, it’s hard to hold onto the rocks with algae and slick surfaces.”
Johnson told Louisiana Radio Network this wasn’t the first time a tragedy has happened, and it’s important to always practice water safety because conditions can change quickly.
“Some people go out and try to save others ... and it doesn’t work out sometimes. It’s always a heartbreaker for us,” he told Louisiana Radio Network.
Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett said the family was originally from Ethel, Mississippi, according to KPLC.
Johnson told the Louisiana Radio Network the family had moved to Beaumont, Texas, for the children’s father’s job, but the sheriff’s office did not release the identity of the family members.
The family was swimming off Long Beach Road, just east of the Louisiana-Texas border. The beach is 51 miles outside of Beaumont, Texas.
This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Mom, two daughters drown as she tries to pull them from rough surf, Louisiana cops say."
