Boy, 15, drowns in Bogue Falaya
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COVINGTON — A 15-year-old boy drowned Tuesday afternoon after he jumped into a river swollen with flood water to catch a fish with his hands but was swept away by the current, police said.
The first Covington firefighters and police officers on the scene stripped to their underwear and jumped into the Bogue Falaya River to save Jordan Russell, of Abita Springs, the Covington Police Department reported Tuesday evening.
Russell was found lodged under a tree in 14 to 15 feet of water about 3:42 p.m. Tuesday but could not be resuscitated once brought to the surface, police said.
Russell apparently was on a sandbar that is normally above the waterline, but fell off into a deep V-like notch between that bar and another sandbar, said Lt. Jack West, Covington police spokesman. The tree was lodged in that notch, West said.
Once under water, Russell came up and called for help, went back down and came up again and then back down again, West said.
Russell was with two other Abita Springs teenagers at Bogue Falaya Park looking for a spot to fish along the river when the incident occurred.
The other two boys rode on their bikes to the Police Department to report their friend was in the river.
No-swimming signs are posted throughout the park, police said.
West said the Bogue Falaya, a tributary of the Tchefuncte River, is still handling drainage from rains last week and carrying lots of downed trees, branches and other debris.
