Donations keeping United Cajun Navy seaplane search for Seacor crewmembers in the air

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - From Texas to Port Fourchon, friends and relatives of missing Seacor Power crewmembers are putting their hopes behind the United Cajun Navy. The Cajun Navy had four seaplanes in the air, fueled by dollars from supporters, eager to bring closure to victims’ family members.

United Cajun Navy sent out seaplanes from Lafitte during their five-day search for missing people.

Aboard one of them was the father of missing Seacor Power crewman Dylan Daspit, who’s holding out hope that a Seacor life jacket, found in the gulf off Terrebonne Parish, might offer clues.

“So we’re jumping in these planes today and we’re going to Timbalier Block Islands. There’s a lot of abandoned platforms, so maybe,” Scott Daspit says.

Residents of Princeton Texas, the hometown of missing crewman Jason Krell, are hoping the search effort succeeds.

“We always try and take care of our own. We rally behind our people. So this has been very sad for our community to know what this family is going through,” said Princeton Mayor Brianna Chacon.

Ronnie Adams, with the show “Swamp People,” is part of the search as well.

“We donated fuel for these planes to go out today and one of the kids missing is Chaz Morales. He is one of the kids that I taught at St. Bernard high back in the day,” said Adams.

The Cajun Navy is also appealing to shrimpers along Louisiana’s coast to assist in the search.

“It’s at the point now where they just want closure. Right now, the families want closure. One of the crewmember’s brother is a shrimper and they all got together and decided to take it to that next level,” said Daspit.

The mayor of Princeton says the community near Dallas has been sending donations to the Cajun Navy to keep the sea planes flying, an effort that Dylan Daspit’s father hopes will succeed.

“He’s a good son. I want him back. If I can’t have him back alive, I want his remains,” said Daspit.

Searchers said they believe that divers have been able to go through most of the partially sunken Seacor Power lift boat. The spokesman for Seacor, however, says the diver search for a total of seven missing crewmembers continues.

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