MOORINGSPORT - At least six residents of this small Caddo Parish community reported seeing unexplained lights and what appeared to be an unusual aircraft hovering over Caddo Lake Friday evening, in an area historically associated with buried pirate treasure and mysterious disappearances.
The sightings occurred between 9:30 and 11:15 p.m. near Ferry Lake Landing, the same location where a mysterious treasure hunter vanished in 1912 after reportedly discovering a cache of Spanish gold linked to the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte.
Tommy Boudreaux, 42, a pipeline welder who lives on Cypress Bend Road, was the first to report the incident to Caddo Parish Sheriff's deputies. "I was sitting on my porch when I saw these real bright white lights moving in a triangular pattern over the lake," Boudreaux said. "At first I thought it might be a helicopter from Barksdale, but it wasn't making any noise at all. Just floating there, real quiet-like."
Margaret Thibodaux, 67, who operates Thibodaux's Bait Shop near the landing, corroborated Boudreaux's account. "I seen the lights too, honey. Three of them in a triangle, bright as anything. They was hovering right over where them cypress trees grow thick, near where old-timers say that treasure was buried back in granddaddy's time."
Dr. James Kirkpatrick, astronomy professor at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, suggested the lights could have a conventional explanation. "Venus has been particularly bright this month, and atmospheric conditions can create unusual optical effects. However, multiple witnesses describing coordinated movement patterns is intriguing."
The most detailed account came from Billy Wayne Marshall, 28, a Vietnam veteran who works at the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant. Marshall was night fishing near the old ferry crossing when the incident occurred.
"I've seen aircraft of all kinds in the service, and this wasn't like anything I know about," Marshall stated. "The craft was maybe 40 feet across, triangular shaped, with lights at each point. It hovered about 100 feet up for maybe ten minutes, then just shot straight up and disappeared. No sound whatsoever."
Marshall added that the object appeared to be scanning the area with a beam of light. "It was like they were looking for something specific. The light beam kept going back to the same spot near them three big oak trees that grow together. My granddaddy always said that was a marker for something important."
Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway confirmed that deputies responded to multiple calls about unusual lights but found no physical evidence when they arrived at the scene around midnight. "We take all reports seriously, but we didn't observe anything unusual during our investigation," Hathaway said.
Barksdale Air Force Base spokesman Captain Robert Hayes stated that no military aircraft were operating in the area Friday evening. "All our training flights were concluded by 1800 hours. We have no record of any authorized military aircraft in that vicinity during the reported time frame."
The Federal Aviation Administration office in Shreveport reported no unusual radar contacts or flight plan irregularities for Friday evening.
Local historian Colonel Samuel Peters Jr., whose grandfather documented similar treasure-hunting incidents in the early 1900s, found the location of the sightings particularly significant. "That area has always attracted unusual attention. First the mysterious treasure hunter in 1912, now this. Makes you wonder if there's something down there worth finding."
The sightings have renewed interest in the area's mysterious history and prompted several amateur treasure hunters to obtain permits for metal detecting in the region, according to Louisiana State Parks officials.
Anyone with additional information about Friday evening's incident is asked to contact the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office.