LC man drowns during family outing in the Calcasieu River

A Lake Charles man drowned Sunday during a family outing after being pulled under by a current in the Calcasieu River just south of Kinder.

This is the first drowning on the Calcasieu River in Allen Parish this year, according to Allen Parish Sheriff Doug Hebert III.

Joseph Dugas, 42, was boating and swimming with his family when he went missing in the water around 2 p.m. His body was recovered three-and-a-half hours later by rescuers.

“Apparently it was a family outing and they had put in some boats at Old Ferry Road, off La. 383, south of Kinder,” Hebert said. “They went south to the sand bars south of Amos Bluff Lane and got out to go swimming.”

According to witnesses Dugas was swimming and got caught in a current, Hebert said. Several people tried to rescue Dugas but couldn’t reach him before he went under, he said.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office dive team and Allen Parish Fire District 4 responded to the scene and recovered Dugas’ body around 5:20 p.m.

Hebert reminds swimmers and boaters that the Calcasieu River “is and always will be dangerous” due to the high currents.

“The Calcasieu River in this area is dangerous with the currents,” he said. “It is not like being at the beach. There are undercurrents and you don’t realize it. I strongly recommend wearing life jackets and not trying to fight the current.

“Even though it’s shallow, there are some places where it falls off into deep spots and you don’t know what is under the surface including old trees and debris. There’s a lot of hidden high current spots in that river.”

He encourages children and adults to keep their life jackets on if they are venturing in spots of the river they are not familiar with. People are also encouraged to not swim alone.