A 28-year-old woman and her two daughters, one seven and the other eight drowned Sunday afternoon in Cameron Parish in the Gulf off Long Beach Road. Sheriff Ron Johnson said they received a call from campers in the area who saw a three-year-old boy wandering alone.
“All the camps are up on pilings, so they ran down there to see why he was by himself and he told them his momma went in the water, so that’s when they called 911,” said Johnson.
The victim’s nine-year-old son was pulled from the water and is listed in stable condition. Johnson said the water was extremely rough Sunday afternoon and rocks in the area made conditions even more dangerous.
“We don’t have the whole story yet because we haven’t interviewed the nine-year-old, the only one who can tell us anything, but apparently the kids got in trouble is what we believe and the momma went out to help them,” said Johnson.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard, local fire department, and ambulance district all assisted in recovery efforts.
Johnson reminds families to be extremely cautious when swimming in moving waters because conditions can change quickly and even trained swimmers can find themselves in a perilous situation. He said it’s not the first time it’s happened.
“Some people go out and try to save others like I’m sure, I imagine this is what happened here, and it doesn’t work out sometimes. It’s always a heartbreaker for us,” said Johnson.
He said the family was originally from Mississippi but moved to Beaumont, Texas for the father’s job. Their identities have not been released.
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