Missing woman: Police ask, ‘Horrific accident’ or crime?

Published 4:28 pm Tuesday, August 7, 2018

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans homicide detectives are investigating an empty sailboat and a missing woman, but Commander Jeffrey Walls says they haven’t made any conclusions.

He says, “This could be a horrific accident or it could be a real crime.”

Spokesman Aaron Looney says police consider 32-year-old Sadie Thibodeaux a missing person.

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Walls spoke to reporters Tuesday about the investigation.

The Coast Guard reported Monday that Thibodeaux was missing but 43-year-old Michael Lee Farley had been found after an all-night search of Lake Pontchartrain.

Walls won’t give details, but says Farley’s account has been consistent.

Co-workers tell WVUE-TV Thibodeaux moved recently from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

Walls says Thibodeaux and Farley had been dating.

Her sister, Nikki Thibodeaux-Dowden, disputed that in a text message to The New Orleans Advocate .