Mark Michaud SELAUSAR
Contributor
I posted this a while back on TDS. It is about some local diving I have been doing. It was also a follow-up to emails I had sent to my friends.
This latest adventure has played out to a pretty interesting end. As I said before, the sawmill at Logtown was the largest in the US from 1823 til 1925. It closed in 1925 and by 1930 it was completely abandoned. In 1961 the land was taken by the government for the buffer zone at Stennis Space Center (NASA). While doing sidescan sonar on the Pearl River, around Logtown, I located what I thought was an old barge due to the size, the reflection, and there is a load of logs on the river bottom toward the middle of the river. As I got close I located a pu truck and a car. The truck was really clear on the sonar, and the car was obvious.
My friend, Tyrone Kemper, my son Josh, and I went to the river Tuesday afternoon. We launched at Logtown and went down river to check out the barge. When we were done with that I would locate the car and truck hoping to find a tag or some identifying feature to verify they are stolen. I anchored in the the "barge" and dropped a camera down. The structure came into view and it was incredible. The visiblity looked like it was going to be good, and the big thing....................this has been here for nearly 100 years and I am about to touch a piece of the past.
I geared up and, with a backroll, I was headed to the bottom. As I headed down the anchor line, the river was unbelievably clear. Anyone who lives here, or has been around here, knows most of the water, in this area, is very muddy due to marshes, swamps and the overflow due to flooding and tides. I have never imagined that this existed and couldn't believe what was unfolding before my eyes. The water was a balmy 57 degrees, but in a drysuit, I was just toasty. I had my HID light activated and it cut a trail through the tanic (root beer colored) water. I followed my anchor line down and, all of a sudden, THERE IT WAS. But........it wasn't a barge.
At around 26 feet I was looking at old lumber that was put together to form something. The lumber was generally about 6 inches thick and maybe a foot or better in width. The top reminded me of rafters on a house with notches cut across each one every so often, like you would to set barge rafters. What was now the side was solid lumber of about the same dimensions from the river bottonto the top which was 6 to 8 feet. On at least one end it angled down quite a bit. I estimate it was between 80 to 120 feet long, 25 to 50 feet across and about 8 feet high. I will return later and get exact measurements and photographs. This could possibly be an old wharf where they docked vessels or possible a ramp used to bring items from the sawmill to a dummyline that connected the sawmill to the main railway several miles away. I could see between 10 and 20 feet with my light disapearing into the dark tanic water. I imagine that if another diver were down there we could see each other over 30 feet away. I do intend to check that theory. I swam around it taking these wonderful sights in and then located the camera head that I had left on the structure. I swam around with it so that Josh and Tyrone could get a look at this magnificant sight. After four or five minutes it was time to surface as we had gotten a late start and daylight was going to be scarce very soon. I returned to the boat and we moved upriver to check the vehicles. My cave diving training was really paying off as the layer of silt on the bottom, and structure, was still undisturbed.
As we neared the next site, I missed the truck on the first pass but the car was clear on the screen. I went overboard and landed almost on top of the car. It was in 14 feet of water and the clarity here was just as good as on the structure. This was definitely a car and it was upside down. I was able to rub the silt off of the license plate and I surfaced with the numbers. My topside guys were ready and the numbers were recorded for later. I swam to the shore and had the guys scan for the truck. I moved to where we had located it so I could follow the, slightly silty, rocky bottom at the right angle and locate the truck. Tyrone yelled that it was starting to show on the sonar. I positioned myself and off I went. I followed the bottom and couldn't believe was I was seeing. Logs, bottles, and stuff of yesteryear just layed there. Along with that layed litter from the recent past.
As I followed the bottom, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Plain as day was a ribcage and spine of something really big. Was this the skeletal remains of man or beast? The bones were mostly intact and they were under what looked like the root structure of a fallen tree. The angle of the tree was from the bank to the middle and the bones were about a foot below the tree. There was so much debris around, and little to no current, that it was unlikely that it drifted there. I removed a liftbag, attached it to a reel, and sent it to the surface. I tied in to one of the roots and then layed line toward the shore. The truck would have to wait.
After a line was layed I secured it to a rotting piling from the old sawmill. I tied off at the bottom of the piling and yelled for Tyrone and Josh to bring the boat close. We positioned the boat near the liftbag and as there was no current it sat there nicely. I took the camera down the line attached to my liftbag and had Josh and Tyrone watch on the monitor. I gave them about a 30 second view of the bones and then returned to the surface. I descended again and removed my liftbag from the line and made this location a secret once again. I swam to the shore and got out of my gear. We loaded up the boat as darkness set in. We all agreed, this was really strange.
On the ride home we talked about the bones, and the structure. The bones were large and it was the most unusual thing I have ever seen in the water. What is the chance of happening onto something like this in a Louisiana / Mississippi river? I called my dispatch and had them run the license plate I obtained from the car. Sure enough, it was reported stolen from Hancock County, which is where we were. I called Hancock County and spoke with the shift supervisor, who I knew when he worked for the St. Tammany Sheriff's Office. He told me he would have and investigator call me in the morning. We arrived home, I showered and headed to bed knowing that 4:30 was gonna be here soon. Back to the real world in the morning.
At about 8:30 Det. Fayard (Hancock Cty. S.O.) called. I told him the story and what I found. We spoke for a few minutes and then he asked when we could get together and check it out. I told him Saturday would be a good day as I was working today and tomorrow. We decided that would be good and made plans. About 9:45 my department cellphone rang. Asst. Chief Simon said "hang on Mark". Chief Drennan took the phone and asked if I could stop by the office and see him. Any of you who know me, know the chief's office has been the equal, for me, to the principal's office is years past. I was wondering what I said or did this time and couldn't think of anything of any consequence. I am normally not bothered by much, but I am a tad gunshy when it comes to these kind of phone calls.
I parked on the back lot, of the police department, and up the steps I went. The two were in the office of the assistant chief so I took a deep breath and I walked in. Chief Drennan told me he had just received a call from the Sheriff of Hancock Cty. and he the asked about the bones and the vehicles. I gave him the short version of the day before. He told me the Sheriff didn't want to wait til Saturday and would like to investigate this today. Chief Drennan also told me there have been several missing persons cases in the area that have never been solved. After a very quiet sigh of relief I told him I would..........WOULD I! I called Det. Fayard back and we decided to meet at Logtown at 1:00 pm. That would give him time to get some diver's and give me time to gather my equipment.
I went to the house and changed clothes. I grabbed two scuba bottles and threw them in my pu. I went to the fire station on Brownswitch Rd. and topped off both bottles. I headed back to the house and went to my shop to get the equipment I may need. I hooked my boat to my Ram Charger and grabbed several more scuba bottles. I loaded liftbags that could raise the car and truck straight up so we wouldn't disturb the bottom if the bones were found to be human and this became a major crime scene. I grabbed an EXO Mask, a communication line, and a diver radio for the surface. I loaded my sonar, camera (infared drop camera with 65' of line that goes to a cctv monitor) that I cannot record on yet, and floats, reels, ropes, hooks, and anything else I could possibly need. At about 12:40 I was on my way.
When I arrived I met with Det. Fayard and three Mississippi Dept. of Marine Resources officers. Two were divers and we would be working together. We made our introductions, and got to business. Det. Fayard asked me to brief everyone. I did and then proposed a plan of action that was immeidately agreed on by all. We launched my boat and loaded some gear into it. Three of us took a ride and scanned the car and truck. We then went to shore to implement the plan we had decided on. Two of us geared up and I took the DMR diver down the line to the bones. I shot a bag, on a line, to the surface to mark this spot. We looked for a moment and as he inspected the bones I looked around for other parts such as arms, legs, a skull or pelvis. I was unable to locate anything else. I handed this DNR diver a loose vertabrae to return with for an initial inspection. We then followed the line to shore and surfaced. The bone was turned over to investigators who were on the shore. I went to locate the car while the other DMR diver dressed out. I located it and sent a float, attached to another reel to the surface. I tied it in to the rear wheel assembly. A line to shore was set by a DMR diver that went, from the car, to the shore. I surfaced and returned to shore. I grabbed another liftbag and reel and went with the first DMR diver to locate the truck. In a few minutes there was a liftbag at the surface marking the location of the truck. All three objects were now marked and investigators on shore photographed the area. We swam to shore and took a short break.
It was decided that we would remove the car since it was far from the bones. These were still being looked at and a decision had not yet been made. I took a tow strap from my Ram Charger and went to the car. I tied it in to the front wheel assembly. A DMR diver swam the cable, from the tow truck out and it was attached it to the tow strap. While he was doing this I took a second strap and tied in to the PU. The car was removed by the towing company and pulled to the higher ground.
By this time it was decided that the bones were probably from a deer that was placed there by an alligator. That would explain the missing parts and how it go there. I was asked to retrieve the rest of the skeleton. I recovered it and surfaced with it. The remains were turned over to investigators. It was examined and the size and shape of the ribs, as well as the backbone, made it clear that these bones were not human. I went back and removed the liftbag that marked this location. Now it was time to remove the truck.
The truck was way out so I got my scooter and a large float ball and clipped them together. I attached the cable to the ball and headed toward the bag while a DMR diver fed me cable. A few feet from the bag the cable ran out. The DMR diver brought the other strap to me and we were able to make the connection between the truck / strap, and the cable. I scootered back to the shore and the truck was eventually removed. It too had been reported stolen out of Hancock Cty.
We gathered our respective gear and I loaded the boat on my trailer. After changing and putting the gear away we left the investigation to Hancock County and we said our goodbyes. It was a long day, we were exhausted, and darkness was setting in, but............what a way to make a living. I will be heading back to dive the structures I scanned and search out my next adventure.
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This latest adventure has played out to a pretty interesting end. As I said before, the sawmill at Logtown was the largest in the US from 1823 til 1925. It closed in 1925 and by 1930 it was completely abandoned. In 1961 the land was taken by the government for the buffer zone at Stennis Space Center (NASA). While doing sidescan sonar on the Pearl River, around Logtown, I located what I thought was an old barge due to the size, the reflection, and there is a load of logs on the river bottom toward the middle of the river. As I got close I located a pu truck and a car. The truck was really clear on the sonar, and the car was obvious.
My friend, Tyrone Kemper, my son Josh, and I went to the river Tuesday afternoon. We launched at Logtown and went down river to check out the barge. When we were done with that I would locate the car and truck hoping to find a tag or some identifying feature to verify they are stolen. I anchored in the the "barge" and dropped a camera down. The structure came into view and it was incredible. The visiblity looked like it was going to be good, and the big thing....................this has been here for nearly 100 years and I am about to touch a piece of the past.
I geared up and, with a backroll, I was headed to the bottom. As I headed down the anchor line, the river was unbelievably clear. Anyone who lives here, or has been around here, knows most of the water, in this area, is very muddy due to marshes, swamps and the overflow due to flooding and tides. I have never imagined that this existed and couldn't believe what was unfolding before my eyes. The water was a balmy 57 degrees, but in a drysuit, I was just toasty. I had my HID light activated and it cut a trail through the tanic (root beer colored) water. I followed my anchor line down and, all of a sudden, THERE IT WAS. But........it wasn't a barge.
At around 26 feet I was looking at old lumber that was put together to form something. The lumber was generally about 6 inches thick and maybe a foot or better in width. The top reminded me of rafters on a house with notches cut across each one every so often, like you would to set barge rafters. What was now the side was solid lumber of about the same dimensions from the river bottonto the top which was 6 to 8 feet. On at least one end it angled down quite a bit. I estimate it was between 80 to 120 feet long, 25 to 50 feet across and about 8 feet high. I will return later and get exact measurements and photographs. This could possibly be an old wharf where they docked vessels or possible a ramp used to bring items from the sawmill to a dummyline that connected the sawmill to the main railway several miles away. I could see between 10 and 20 feet with my light disapearing into the dark tanic water. I imagine that if another diver were down there we could see each other over 30 feet away. I do intend to check that theory. I swam around it taking these wonderful sights in and then located the camera head that I had left on the structure. I swam around with it so that Josh and Tyrone could get a look at this magnificant sight. After four or five minutes it was time to surface as we had gotten a late start and daylight was going to be scarce very soon. I returned to the boat and we moved upriver to check the vehicles. My cave diving training was really paying off as the layer of silt on the bottom, and structure, was still undisturbed.
As we neared the next site, I missed the truck on the first pass but the car was clear on the screen. I went overboard and landed almost on top of the car. It was in 14 feet of water and the clarity here was just as good as on the structure. This was definitely a car and it was upside down. I was able to rub the silt off of the license plate and I surfaced with the numbers. My topside guys were ready and the numbers were recorded for later. I swam to the shore and had the guys scan for the truck. I moved to where we had located it so I could follow the, slightly silty, rocky bottom at the right angle and locate the truck. Tyrone yelled that it was starting to show on the sonar. I positioned myself and off I went. I followed the bottom and couldn't believe was I was seeing. Logs, bottles, and stuff of yesteryear just layed there. Along with that layed litter from the recent past.
As I followed the bottom, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Plain as day was a ribcage and spine of something really big. Was this the skeletal remains of man or beast? The bones were mostly intact and they were under what looked like the root structure of a fallen tree. The angle of the tree was from the bank to the middle and the bones were about a foot below the tree. There was so much debris around, and little to no current, that it was unlikely that it drifted there. I removed a liftbag, attached it to a reel, and sent it to the surface. I tied in to one of the roots and then layed line toward the shore. The truck would have to wait.
After a line was layed I secured it to a rotting piling from the old sawmill. I tied off at the bottom of the piling and yelled for Tyrone and Josh to bring the boat close. We positioned the boat near the liftbag and as there was no current it sat there nicely. I took the camera down the line attached to my liftbag and had Josh and Tyrone watch on the monitor. I gave them about a 30 second view of the bones and then returned to the surface. I descended again and removed my liftbag from the line and made this location a secret once again. I swam to the shore and got out of my gear. We loaded up the boat as darkness set in. We all agreed, this was really strange.
On the ride home we talked about the bones, and the structure. The bones were large and it was the most unusual thing I have ever seen in the water. What is the chance of happening onto something like this in a Louisiana / Mississippi river? I called my dispatch and had them run the license plate I obtained from the car. Sure enough, it was reported stolen from Hancock County, which is where we were. I called Hancock County and spoke with the shift supervisor, who I knew when he worked for the St. Tammany Sheriff's Office. He told me he would have and investigator call me in the morning. We arrived home, I showered and headed to bed knowing that 4:30 was gonna be here soon. Back to the real world in the morning.
At about 8:30 Det. Fayard (Hancock Cty. S.O.) called. I told him the story and what I found. We spoke for a few minutes and then he asked when we could get together and check it out. I told him Saturday would be a good day as I was working today and tomorrow. We decided that would be good and made plans. About 9:45 my department cellphone rang. Asst. Chief Simon said "hang on Mark". Chief Drennan took the phone and asked if I could stop by the office and see him. Any of you who know me, know the chief's office has been the equal, for me, to the principal's office is years past. I was wondering what I said or did this time and couldn't think of anything of any consequence. I am normally not bothered by much, but I am a tad gunshy when it comes to these kind of phone calls.
I parked on the back lot, of the police department, and up the steps I went. The two were in the office of the assistant chief so I took a deep breath and I walked in. Chief Drennan told me he had just received a call from the Sheriff of Hancock Cty. and he the asked about the bones and the vehicles. I gave him the short version of the day before. He told me the Sheriff didn't want to wait til Saturday and would like to investigate this today. Chief Drennan also told me there have been several missing persons cases in the area that have never been solved. After a very quiet sigh of relief I told him I would..........WOULD I! I called Det. Fayard back and we decided to meet at Logtown at 1:00 pm. That would give him time to get some diver's and give me time to gather my equipment.
I went to the house and changed clothes. I grabbed two scuba bottles and threw them in my pu. I went to the fire station on Brownswitch Rd. and topped off both bottles. I headed back to the house and went to my shop to get the equipment I may need. I hooked my boat to my Ram Charger and grabbed several more scuba bottles. I loaded liftbags that could raise the car and truck straight up so we wouldn't disturb the bottom if the bones were found to be human and this became a major crime scene. I grabbed an EXO Mask, a communication line, and a diver radio for the surface. I loaded my sonar, camera (infared drop camera with 65' of line that goes to a cctv monitor) that I cannot record on yet, and floats, reels, ropes, hooks, and anything else I could possibly need. At about 12:40 I was on my way.
When I arrived I met with Det. Fayard and three Mississippi Dept. of Marine Resources officers. Two were divers and we would be working together. We made our introductions, and got to business. Det. Fayard asked me to brief everyone. I did and then proposed a plan of action that was immeidately agreed on by all. We launched my boat and loaded some gear into it. Three of us took a ride and scanned the car and truck. We then went to shore to implement the plan we had decided on. Two of us geared up and I took the DMR diver down the line to the bones. I shot a bag, on a line, to the surface to mark this spot. We looked for a moment and as he inspected the bones I looked around for other parts such as arms, legs, a skull or pelvis. I was unable to locate anything else. I handed this DNR diver a loose vertabrae to return with for an initial inspection. We then followed the line to shore and surfaced. The bone was turned over to investigators who were on the shore. I went to locate the car while the other DMR diver dressed out. I located it and sent a float, attached to another reel to the surface. I tied it in to the rear wheel assembly. A line to shore was set by a DMR diver that went, from the car, to the shore. I surfaced and returned to shore. I grabbed another liftbag and reel and went with the first DMR diver to locate the truck. In a few minutes there was a liftbag at the surface marking the location of the truck. All three objects were now marked and investigators on shore photographed the area. We swam to shore and took a short break.
It was decided that we would remove the car since it was far from the bones. These were still being looked at and a decision had not yet been made. I took a tow strap from my Ram Charger and went to the car. I tied it in to the front wheel assembly. A DMR diver swam the cable, from the tow truck out and it was attached it to the tow strap. While he was doing this I took a second strap and tied in to the PU. The car was removed by the towing company and pulled to the higher ground.
By this time it was decided that the bones were probably from a deer that was placed there by an alligator. That would explain the missing parts and how it go there. I was asked to retrieve the rest of the skeleton. I recovered it and surfaced with it. The remains were turned over to investigators. It was examined and the size and shape of the ribs, as well as the backbone, made it clear that these bones were not human. I went back and removed the liftbag that marked this location. Now it was time to remove the truck.
The truck was way out so I got my scooter and a large float ball and clipped them together. I attached the cable to the ball and headed toward the bag while a DMR diver fed me cable. A few feet from the bag the cable ran out. The DMR diver brought the other strap to me and we were able to make the connection between the truck / strap, and the cable. I scootered back to the shore and the truck was eventually removed. It too had been reported stolen out of Hancock Cty.
We gathered our respective gear and I loaded the boat on my trailer. After changing and putting the gear away we left the investigation to Hancock County and we said our goodbyes. It was a long day, we were exhausted, and darkness was setting in, but............what a way to make a living. I will be heading back to dive the structures I scanned and search out my next adventure.
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