Hunters venture out into rare coastal snowstorm and need rescue, Louisiana agents say

A series of rescues were staged in the Louisiana wilderness after duck hunters defied warnings and set out during a rare coastal snowstorm, state officials said.

Five rescues were made in the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and two were 55 miles northwest at Henderson Lake, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said.

The lake rescue happened early Tuesday, Jan. 21, as temperatures were in the single digits and heavy snow was falling across southern Louisiana, the department said in a news release.

“Agents received info around 7 a.m. about two duck hunters that were stranded in Henderson Lake. Agents ... found the duck hunters in their boat inside their hunting blind around 8:45 a.m.,” the department reported.

“According to the hunters, they got to their blind to hunt and when they tried to leave, they couldn’t get the motor to start.”

A search and rescued for four other hunters was mounted just hours later at the Atchafalaya Delta WMA, officials said.

“They went out duck hunting in the morning in their vessel and on their way back started taking on water. They then beached their vessel,” the department said.

In another case, a single hunter reported being stranded in the Atchafalaya Delta after his vessel ran out of gas, officials said.

All the rescues occurred after state officials told hunters not to venture between Jan. 20 and Jan. 23.

That period coincided with an “unprecedented snow storm” that dumped up to 10 inches of snow on parts of southern Louisiana. Temperatures in the region fell to 2 degrees Jan. 21 and 22, and lows at night were below zero.

This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Hunters venture out into rare coastal snowstorm and need rescue, Louisiana agents say."