By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – After searching for four days, authorities recovered on Tuesday the body of a LaPlace man who went overboard Saturday while riding on a small boat near the southern end of Lake Maurepas.

Authorities conducted 13 independent searches, via boat and helicopter, for Huey Fayard, 48, of LaPlace, who allegedly either jumped, fell or was pushed out of a 17-foot-long Key Largo fishing boat at approximately 7:45 p.m. while riding with a female companion.

Fayard’s companion reportedly attempted to call authorities with a cell phone, but didn’t obtain a signal until the boat drifted to the western shore, two hours after Fayard went underwater. The female claimed she didn’t know how to restart the boat’s motor, according to a spokesman for the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard searches encompassed the entire lake, shoreline and adjacent bayous.