Operator was idling through a stumpy area with the wind blowing out of the NNE at 12 mph with occasional gusts of up to 30 mph.  Operator had his stern to the wind while he was idling.  The passenger suddenly noticed that the boat was filling up with water from the waves coming over the stern.  Operator turned on his bilge pumps and cut his engine off.  Both men went to the front of the boat because the back was flooding and the boat capsized.  Both men already had their type 3 PFD's on when the boat capsized.  

Occupant was able to hold onto the boat and stay with it as it drifted away in the wind.  Operator was able to grab a boat seat and held onto it while he was drifting alone in the wind.  Both men were able to communicate with one another for a short time before they drifted too far away from each other.  After approximately two hours in the water, two subjects on land heard Occupant calling for help and went to assist.  They were able to rescue Occupant and then began searching for Operator.  They located Operator approximately 200 yards upwind of his capsized boat.  He was still wearing his PFD but it was not buckled.  His head was underwater and he was unresponsive.  Due to his size, they were not able to get Operator in the boat.  They tied him off to a stump, placed a marker on the stump, and returned to the shore with Occupant.

Sabine Parish Sheriff's Office was notified of the incident via a 911 call at 3:41 PM and they in turn notified LDWF Enforcement.  At approximately 5:00 PM, body was recovered by LDWF Enforcement agents and Sabine Parish S.O. deputies at the same location he had been left.  A subsequent autopsy revealed that Operator had succumbed to a heart attack.

ZWOLLE                        