NEW ORLEANS — Family members have identified the 15-year-old who was swept into the Mississippi River with another child while trying to rescue his girlfriend as Kevin Poole.
Family members say that Poole was a student and football player at LB Landry High School in New Orleans.
Poole was among three children who were reported missing after they were swept into the Mississippi River on Saturday. Poole was with 14-year-old Brandy Wilson and 8-year-old Ally Wilson at a park near the Crescent City Connection Bridge when Brandy slipped on a piling near the water's edge and fell into the river. Poole and Ally went into the water to rescue Brandy, but all three children were pulled down by the current and have not been seen since.
The girls' 5-year-old brother saw the children being pulled under the water and then ran home to get help.
Allen Barry, the girls' father, said that Saturday was the first time the girls were allowed to leave home on their own. He said that the girls' were allowed to leave with Poole because their mother, who suffers from a heart condition, had to go to the hospital.
"I need my kids. They know I need them," Octavia Wilson, the girls' mother said. "My daughter said she was trying to give me a break. I don't need a break, I need my children."
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for the children after searching 93 miles of the river. Some local law enforcement agencies like the New Orleans Police Department and private dive businesses have continued to search for the missing children.
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