NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans police have confirmed a body pulled from the Mississippi River, Tuesday morning on the edge of the French Quarter is that of a missing Texas oil executive.
The search and rescue company, Texas Equusearch, found the body of 54-year old Douglas Schantz shortly before noon.
It was just 100 feet from where surveillance cameras showed him climbing over a fence and falling into the Mississippi River near the Steamboat Natchez.
"What law enforcement did on their investigation and our equipment worked and our experience worked," said Texas Equusearch founder Tim Miller.
Schantz was in New Orleans to make a $25,000 scholarship donation to Tulane University. He was president of the Houston-based Sequent Energy Management.
Police say Schantz disappeared early Friday morning after drinking with co-workers and friends at Razzoo Bar & Patio, a Bourbon Street night club.
Surveillance videos from French Quarter businesses showed him leaving the bar and wandering toward the river.
"We know for a fact that he had been drinking," said New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley. "He appeared to be disoriented. The last video of Mr. Schantz is when he was near the boat Natchez, walking on a two to three feet wide walkway, near the river."
Gordon Stevens from the Natchez said his cameras show Schantz falling between the walkway and the boat around 2:40, Friday morning.
"The gentleman, apparently couldn't see it, but he went over the green fence that separates the dock from the boat and there's a walkway there that is part of the dock, that is at the edge of the dock," said Stevens. "He's shown walking along the edge, gets to the gangway post, that hold up the Natchez gangway, went past there and apparently there, fell into the river."
Police showed Schantz's colleagues the video tape.
"We had a chance to quickly view the last amount of video that show him on the pier here and I'll be honest with you, it's difficult to know what he was thinking at the time," said Sequent Energy VP Mark Homestead. "Who knows, who knows? But it does according to police appear to be accidental."
Schantz's friends and family thanked investigators and say finding his body gives them closure.
"Wonderful man, a family man, his family's going to miss him, we're going to miss him," said Homestead. "Our whole lives will be forever changed because of this."
Chief Riley said about 30 detectives scoured the French Quarter looking for Douglas Schantz.
The FBI, U.S. Marshal Service and the Coast Guard also helped in the search.
