Hill missing after jetski accident By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff | May 28, 2007
Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill is believed to be missing after a jetski accident in Louisiana on Sunday.
"I'm just trying to hold out hope," said Albert Elias, Hill's agent. "We're praying."
The 24-year-old Hill, a native of New Orleans, was operating a jetski on Lake Pontchartrain Sunday when he fell off into a strong current, according to Elias.
Elias said Hill and a young woman were both operating jetskis when they were thrown in different directions. A passing boat had briefly picked up the man, but he jumped back in the water to look for the woman, the Orleans Levee Board Police told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A passerby rescued the woman after he heard her calling for help, according to the Times-Picayune. The woman had apparently grabbed onto a piling or another structure in the lake.
"I spoke with the girl and her mother this morning and they said he helped her stay calm. He ended up saving her life, keeping her calm until she could grab onto a buoy,"Elias said.
Elias said the woman last saw Hill floating away from her.
Rescue crews began looking for Hill on Sunday evening, according to Elias, and the search has continued this morning.
While Elias said Hill can swim, he was not wearing a life preserver, according to Elias.
Elias said Hill's mother told him that others have been missing in Lake Pontchartrain for as long as two days before being found alive, so the family was holding out hope that Hill was OK.
The 6-foot-6-inch, 300-pound Hill was a second-round draft choice of the Patriots in 2004, and has served as a backup for his first three seasons, appearing in 13 career games.
This reminds me of a Chiefs running back who saved a child's life in a river but drowned because he himself couldn't swim. That was about 30-35 years ago.
My prayers our with Hill and I hiope he is found soon. This is a sad story.
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I'm in the Coast Guard and I was station at Air Station New Orleans from 1990 to 1995. I've seen this happen, time and time again. It's a shame to see someone in the prime of their life, get cut short. My heart goes out to his family. God Bless..
JR_USCG_GOSKINS wrote:I'm in the Coast Guard and I was station at Air Station New Orleans from 1990 to 1995. I've seen this happen, time and time again. It's a shame to see someone in the prime of their life, get cut short. My heart goes out to his family. God Bless..
Semper Paratus
Can you give us some insight into what causes these situations?
JR_USCG_GOSKINS wrote:I'm in the Coast Guard and I was station at Air Station New Orleans from 1990 to 1995. I've seen this happen, time and time again. It's a shame to see someone in the prime of their life, get cut short. My heart goes out to his family. God Bless..
Semper Paratus
Can you give us some insight into what causes these situations?
JR_USCG_GOSKINS wrote:I'm in the Coast Guard and I was station at Air Station New Orleans from 1990 to 1995. I've seen this happen, time and time again. It's a shame to see someone in the prime of their life, get cut short. My heart goes out to his family. God Bless..
Semper Paratus
Can you give us some insight into what causes these situations?
There is areas of "Lake P" where the bottom of the lake drops off a couple hundred feet. When this happens, it can create small whirlpools. The worst area in New Orleans is on the Mississippi River, near the GNO Bridge " Greater New Orleans Bridge". If seen small trees going down the River get suck up by the Force of the waters. One time a college student thought it would be cool to jump off the ferry and swim over to the East Bank and meet his friends. If I remember correctly, his body didn't pop up for a couple of weeks and he was about thirty miles down river. Even the best swimmers don't have a chance. If we had to deploy a Rescue Swimmer from the Helo, we would do a Direct Deployment. This is where the Rescue Swimmer would stay attached to the hoist cable and the Rescue Swimmer would give us hand signals on where he needed to go. This is nothing to play around with, and anybody on a vessel of any sort should have on a Life Vest. Tragedies on the water will always break my heart..
