A 48-year-old man is dead after jumping from a 37-foot boat into Lake Pontchartrain near the mouth of the Tchefuncte River on Wednesday afternoon, without a life jacket, according to a passenger account. John Lintner surfaced once, went back under the water, and never came up again, prompting a passenger aboard the vessel to call 911 for help.
The jump happened around 4 p.m. near where the Tchefuncte River empties into the lake in St. Tammany Parish, according to nola.com. The outlet reports that Lintner's body was recovered roughly three hours after he went into the water and was turned over to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office. A separate account from WGNO places the recovery around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, consistent with the timeline described elsewhere.
WGNO also reports, citing the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, that Lintner was not wearing a personal flotation device when he entered the water. As WDSU notes, the agency is now investigating the deadly boating incident.
Passenger's Account Describes Final Moments
The passenger aboard the boat told authorities that Lintner surfaced once after going into the lake before slipping back underwater and failing to resurface, per the same nola.com account. That passenger then placed the call to 911, setting off the search that ultimately led crews to recover his body.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is conducting an ongoing investigation into the circumstances of the incident, according to WDSU. No further details about the findings or timeline of that inquiry have been released.
A Pattern Seen Elsewhere on St. Tammany Waterways
Lintner's death adds to a string of fatal water incidents reported around St. Tammany Parish in recent months. In a separate case, two men died after entering the water near the Lock One Navigational Canal near Pearl River, with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office confirming that family members pulled both bodies from the water before deputies arrived, according to audacy.com.
Statewide data cited by desotoparishjournal.com shows Louisiana recorded 87 boating fatalities between 2021 and 2025, with victims averaging roughly 50 years old, and that the state had already logged five boating-related deaths earlier in 2026. The same report states that 81 percent of boating fatality victims were not wearing a personal flotation device at the time of their deaths.
Louisiana wildlife officials' boating safety guidance emphasizes wearing a properly sized and fitted life jacket, noting that most fatalities occur when someone falls overboard or a boat capsizes, per the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Investigators have not released additional information about what led to Lintner going into the water near the Tchefuncte River mouth.
