An avid outdoorsman missing off Grand Isle is presumed drowned, family members said.
Blake Terry, 27, went missing Saturday while diving with other experienced spearfishermen in the Gulf of Mexico about 75 miles southwest of Southwest Pass, family and authorities said.
“His dive buddy saw Blake coming up with him,” said Whitney Terry, 24, Blake’s sister. The dive buddy surfaced, but “Blake failed to show.”
A call for help went out over the radio about 10 p.m. for a diver missing at sea, Coast Guard spokesman Steve Lehmann said.
The Coast Guard dispatched an 87-foot cutter, which joined with family members and other divers searching an 180-square-mile area, Lehmann said. The search was called off 24 hours later.
“Blake is missing and presumed drowned,” Whitney said.
Blake grew up in Lockport with Whitney and a brother, Dustin, 24. He lived in Thibodaux and worked as a mechanic on boats at Southern Outdoors, Port Fourchon and other places.
Blake was “very attached to the water,” his sister said. “It was something we think was ingrained in him.”
Blake and his friends had been fishing around the base of an offshore rig. Friends and family were hopeful that he might have been able to swim to safety on another rig or reef, and “we still have that small hope in our mind,” Whitney said.
A remotely operated underwater vehicle was to be deployed this afternoon in hopes of finding and recovering Blake’s body.
Family and friends, Whitney said, are thankful for the prayers and thoughts they have received so far.
