MORGANZA — A family is remembering their father and grandfather James Gage Jr., 59, after his truck crashed into the water on March 1, leaving them “heartbroken” and stuck in a bad dream. It took 12 days for rescuers to find and recover his body from the water of the bar pit.
Gage’s daughter Sherry Jarreau said her father’s passion was exploring the levee.
“My brother Carlton and our dad, James, would roam the area in search of good fishing spots, making it a cherished childhood experience,” she recalled.
They spent their childhood riding along the levee, watching the water levels and fishing.
Gage also loved his grandchildren and enjoyed barbeques and boiling crawfish.
Jarreau recalled that after getting the call on March 1 that their dad had crashed into the water, they were in disbelief, hoping to see him standing on the levee safe and alive. She said that they then waited for 12 days before his body was recovered from the bar pit.
On March 27, the coroner identified cause of death as natural and from an “embolism to heart or pulmonary embolism.”
Gage’s family said he had a medical history including deep vein thrombosis, and that the day before the accident, he had reported feeling short of breath.
“We are heartbroken and trying to cope with life without him,” Jarreau said. “His grandson, Kameron, searches for his truck, hoping this is all just a bad dream.”
Original story:
The body of the missing person from the recent vehicle submersion near the Mississippi River levee has been recovered.
It was just after 6:15 p.m. on March 13 when the Sheriff himself received a call from a neighbor, who said they spotted something in the water. The Sheriff and his team, along with local search and rescue units, responded and confirmed it was the missing individual. Recovery was completed at 7:18 PM. The family has been notified.
“Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time,” said Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux. “We appreciate the efforts of all agencies involved in the search and recovery.”
Officials tell UWK a truck was riding on the levee in Morganza when the driver passed up a 4-wheeler and somehow ended up in the water. It happened around 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 off La 1, specifically, about a mile past the STEM Magnet Academy, in Morganza.
The truck was visible for a bit, but then was fully submerged, likely under 20’ of water.
Nearly three hours after it went into the water, the truck was pulled out around 7 p.m. on Saturday. Multiple agencies successfully recovered a submerged vehicle in an area known as the ‘Bar Pit’ in Pointe Coupee Parish.
Officials say no one was inside the submerged truck. But a witness reported to Pointe Coupee Sheriff’s deputies that the driver was inside the vehicle when it entered the water.
The Pointe Coupee Fire District’s dive team spent nearly two weeks searching the water for the driver. Cadaver dogs, multiple boats and sonars helped search the waters.
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