Three Children Fell Into Mississippi River on Saturday Evening, Search Called Off

Terribly sad news out of New Orleans over the weekend as three children went missing after entering the Mississippi River.

The children were last seen going into the Mississippi River near the Crescent City Connection bridge just before sunset on Saturday.

The missing children include a 15-year-old male, a 14-year-old female, and an eight-year-old female.

Family members have identified two of the children as Ally Berry-Wilson, 8, and Brandy Wilson, 14. The two are sisters.

The 15-year-old has yet to be identified.

It remains unclear at this point as to how or why they got into the water.

The Coast Guard began looking for the children at dusk on Saturday. The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority suspended its service of the Algiers-Canal Street ferry in hopes of clearing the search area.

The rescue efforts by the Coast Guard also included an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, two Maritime safety and security boat crews, a Cutter Sawfish crew and a New Orleans station boat crew.

The New Orleans police and fire departments also assisted in the search.

Rescue crews searched more than 93 miles along the Mississippi River for a combined 55 total hours.

However, after that exhaustive search, the Coast Guard decided to call off the search.

“The decision to suspend any search and rescue case is never easy but considering the extensive search efforts of our Coast Guard men and women, in conjunction with other response agencies, I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend our active search for the three children,” said Capt. Kelly Denning, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans commander. “Our prayers are with the families during this difficult time.”