Pine Prairie resident charged in double boating fatality in Caldwell Parish

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Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents are investigating a double boating fatality that occurred in Caldwell Parish last night, Jan. 16.

The deceased bodies of two 15-year-old boys were recovered from Lafourche Lake around midnight on Jan. 16.

According to the operator, Travis H. McFarlain, 55, of Pine Prairie, he was operating an 18-foot aluminum vessel and struck a dock ejecting all three 15-year-old boy passengers and McFarlain. Two of the 15-year-old boys were killed after being ejected and the third boy was transported to a hospital in stable condition.

Agents conducted a breathalyzer on McFarlain and determined that he was intoxicated. Agents arrested McFarlain and booked him into the Caldwell Parish Correctional Center for operating a vessel while intoxicated and two counts of vehicular homicide.

The LDWF Enforcement Division will be the lead investigative agency for this fatal boating crash incident. The deceased bodies were turned over to the Caldwell Parish Coroner’s Office to determine an official cause of death.