Updated: 5-year old dies in boating mishap

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State investigators are seeking more details concerning the apparent drowning death of a 5-year-old boy in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, following an attempt by his father to keep him out of harm’s way as they paddled across the busy water body in a disabled boat.


They are also looking into the death of a Metairie man Sunday morning in connection with a different boating incident near Grand Isle.

Rescuers said that although they are still processing information, there are strong indications that both incidents will result in tragic lessons learned for all boaters, in a community that relies heavily on water for recreation.

Father and son are from Houma.


The busy waterway and outlying canals were scoured Saturday night and Sunday morning for signs of Ethan Hancock, who was wearing a blue and white life jacket at around 11 p.m. He was found shortly after 7:30 a.m. beneath a barge his father, Darrell Hancock, had sought to avoid when the pair abandoned their 14-foot skiff, which was believed to have run out of fuel while they were out on a late night frogging trip.

For now, investigators theorize that when the pair abandoned the vessel the boy might have been sucked up in the churning waters alongside the barge, which was being pushed along with another by a tug, identified as the Trinity Bay.

“Father and son ran out of gas and he attempted to paddle across the Intracoastal,” said Adam Einck, a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “The tug got close to them and they jumped in the water. The boy had a life jacket on the father did not. The tug boat never made contact with their skiff.”


The Trinity Bay, which was eastbound, recognized that there was a small boat in distress and pulled over to a marshy area west of the Company Canal.

An initial night-long search near the barges turned up no sign of the child in pre-dawn hours. A Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter and 25-foot small-boat joined LDWF, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol and the Lafourche Sheriff’s Water Patrol in a search overnight. Sheriff’s Office canine units were also utilized.

Daylight provided better opportunities for the search in the immediate vicinity of the commercial vessels, and the Trinity Bay at the request of rescuers pushed its barges hard forward at around 7:30 a.m. The move allowed the boy’s body to be sighted and recovered.


Rescuers said the boy was intact and had not suffered any contact with the vessels.

Although facts are still being assembled, rescuers said some information they already have provides good guidance for local boaters who want to keep safety first.

The death of the Hancock boy was the second fatality Sunday related to boating. At around 1:15 a.m. LDWF agents were called regarding the death of 44-year-old Robert Sims near Grand Isle.


Sims, 44, suffered serious head trauma after the boat he was traveling on hit a piling.

Sims, agents said, was a passenger on a 28 foot vessel travelling at a high rate of speed in the Caminada Pass, heading to Port Fourchon. Sims was leaning out of the vessel as a lookout when his head struck a piling around 1 a.m. on July 31. Agents arrived on scene with LaFourche Emergency Medical Services within minutes of the incident, but Sims was already deceased.

Capt. Mike Ledet of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol was among those who provided tips relevant to all boaters on local waterways, particularly during the busy summer season.


* If your boat runs out of gas call for help if possible using a cell phone or marine radio, particularly at night, rather than paddle across busy waterways The Water Patrol answers calls for help 24 hours per day.

* Always know where you are. Keep your cell phone charging in your boat so that your battery is always good.


* All persons on board should wear life jackets, even though the law only requires that children do so. In an emergency wearing a life jacket can help you to better help your child in an emergency.

* Before venturing out at night, or during hours where a mishap might keep you out after dark, make sure you have working navigation lights.

* Carry flares or other warning devices. A tug operator might not see you while pushing huge barges. A flare or other visual device can provide greater visibility.


* Always carry an audible device – whether a hand-held horn or even a whistle. This can help attract the attention of other boaters you might not be able to see if you need help.

* When underway have passengers keep heads and limbs inside of your vessel.

* Unless thoroughly familiar with a waterway, lower speeds are preferable at night. Night time obscures posts, pilings and potential shallow areas where groundings can occur.


A Coast Guard small boat similar to this one is among vessels searching the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for a missing 5-year-old boy

Incident location