newstnews@bellsouth.net
Catahoula — Local sportsman Archie Vicknair could not be saved from a fatal fall during a local hunting trip with his son in the Atchafalaya Basin last weekend.
Vicknair and his 10-year-old son, Ridge, were on a early Saturday morning duck hunting trip near Catahoula Lake when he fell from his boat and drowned.
Family members have assumed from the boy’s account that just before daybreak the 36-year-old hunter may have slipped, fell and sustained head trauma before being submerged in the shallow water.
Then, Ridge courageously entered the water after his nonresponsive father where he attempted to hold his father’s head above water, but to no avail. The boy, having realized his father may have succumbed to his injury, swam and trudged through 400 yards of cold water to reach the family’s nearby camp to get help.
According to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries representatives, Vicknair was not wearing a life preserver.
Family members told reporters that Ridge’s effort to rescue his father was surprising because the boy has Achromatopsia , an eye condition that renders him legally blind. Apparently, he could see better in the dark family members said.
Vicknair was employed by Superior Derrick Services, LLC. He is survived by wife, Mady, Ridge and Dru, his daughter.
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