PORT FOURCHON, La. (NewsNation Now) — The father of a missing Seacor Power crewmember made a desperate plea for help Thursday, as families and volunteers continue to search after the Coast Guard halted its efforts earlier this week.
“Our hope is diminishing but we’re going up again today, we’ve got to find our people,” Scott Daspit said in a video posted to Facebook. “Please everybody pray for a miracle.”
A total of 19 people were on board when the 129-foot Seacor Power went over in rough seas in the Gulf of Mexico on April 13. To date, six people have been rescued, the bodies of six others were recovered, and seven crew members are still missing, including Daspit’s son Dylan.
Speaking Thursday, Daspit expressed support for Seacor Power but offered some criticism for the Coast Guard, which called off its search and recovery mission Monday and Talos Energy, the company the ship was contracted to work for when it capsized.
“The families are hurting and no one in that operating company has the compassion to come down here and visit with us, nor did they think about trying to help us with seaplanes,” Daspit said.
Daspit said workers operating along the Louisiana coast have been providing some leads as volunteers fly seaplanes across the area looking for signs of debris.
“We still got six people missing, the whole vessel’s been swept with my divers; we found some deceased, we still have six out at sea,” Daspit said.
The live video was posted to the account of “Swamp People” cast member Ronnie Adams, who joined Daspit in calling for people to donate to the United Cajun Navy as they continue the search effort.
“It’s just a sad situation,” Adams said. “These boys from Louisiana, we’re just resilient, and we’re not giving up until we find these kids.”