All are safe after Jet Ski incident

For an entire nail-biting, sleepless night, Lindsay Duet waited for word as a helicopter and an armada of boats – some belonging to law enforcement agencies and others to neighbors who tried to help out – swept the intricate network of beaches, bays and bayous.

Her son, 8-year-old Justin, his cousin, 7-year-old Cullen St. Amant, and her her husband, Jeremy Duet, had left the family’s Pointe Fourchon houseboat around 3 p.m. Sunday for a lark on a green-and-black Kawasaki jet ski. They didn’t return as expected, and then Sunday evening turned into a grueling night, a heart-wrenching finish to what had been a joyous Mother’s Day gathering.

Early Monday morning, she got the phone call telling her they were safe. By 5:45 a.m. they were home, with tales to tell of being stranded on a sand bar, held hostage by shallow water and a low tide.

“Thank you to all who helped with the search and prayers,” she posted on Facebook, where the initial message she sent out telling friends and neighbors of her missing loved ones was shared more than 1,700 times.

“Community is overwhelmingly helping, so many people in their personal boats,” she said while the search was on-going.

In the end it was a volunteer searcher, an Edison Chouest Offshore employee named Ben Sanamo, who found them by kismet.

“Ben was just part of the family. His wife or girlfriend is related to Justin,” said Cullen’s father, Shane St. Amant. “He just borrowed a boat and was out there searching. Thank God for him. Thank God for everyone.”

That neighbors, friends and family had pitched in to find the trio was not a surprise. Southern Lafourche Parish, a place known as home to an overwhelming number of inshore Cajun mariners, is known for its strong community core and close ties.

“The power of social media is miraculous,” said Shane St. Amant, who credits the power of prayers and good wishes that flooded his phone with aiding the happy outcome. “I had 40 notifications every five minutes. All the people were helping out. My roommate Carlie had people at her work to do a prayer circle. People from all over were praying.”

Father and son along with Cullen were seen at about 4 p.m. near an inlet at Bayou Lafourche, passing a back-up barge. By 5:30 p.m. word help was needed was out.

Search and Rescue Coordinator Christopher Hampton at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans said just after Midnight that one of his agency’s helicopters and a boat from Station Grand Isle were still working, combing the area’s twisty, desolate waterways. The focus, he said, was on Devil’s Bay and Bay Courant. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office and Fourchon Harbor Police all worked their hardest to find something, anything, that might offer a clue.

The weather had remained stable throughout the night although open waters had a slight chop. Winds were brisk at 10-15 mph, and two to three foot waves with a 4-second dominant period, while not perilous, but neither were they ideal.

“Justin’s dad, he was taking him to walk the beach and walk the sand. They went to shallow water on a sandbar,” Shane St. Amant said. “They got stuck on the sandbar and couldn’t get off. They had to wait until daybreak. They got stuck.”

Jeremy Duet, who had neglected to take his cellular phone with him on the trip, did his best to keep the boys safe, Shane St. Amant said.

“[Duet] took care of them,” Shane St. Amant added. “He put the seat up in the jet ski and made a makeshift thing to keep them out of the wind. He kept the engine running to keep them warm. They were taken care of. He did a great job.”

The intrepid Sanamo called with the good news as soon as he spotted the three, just at daybreak.

“Cullen is just happy to be home,” Shane St. Amant said of his young son. “He was hungry. He was ready to eat. He said he’s not going back on a jet ski for a long time. He was happy to be found and happy to be home.” •

A scary afternoon trip had a happy ending in south Lafourche Parish for cousins Cullen St. Amant (at left) and Justin Duet (far right). The boys were stranded on the water for nearly 12 hours with Justin’s father Jeremy Duet at the controls. At daybreak on Monday morning, the trio was found by a family member who borrowed a vessel to conduct his own search – one of several community members who did the same.