CAMERON, La. (CB) — Violent crime is on the rise in Cameron Parish Louisiana after a dolphin was found shot to death on March 13th. The unidentified juvenile bottlenose was found on West Mae's beach with multiple bullets lodged in the dolphin's brain, spinal cord and heart. It is unclear at this time if the victim knew their assailant. Police are seeking the public's help with a hotline they have set up and a 20,000 dollar reward. The punishment for harming or killing dolphins is fines ranging up to 100,000 dollars and up to a year in jail.

And just like that I became a bounty hunter in Louisiana. A PI of the high sea. The gumbo Gumshoe. 20,000 Dollars would drastically impact my life as I am currently unemployed, in debt, and in dire need of a new driver before the golf season gets in full swing.

Let's put our deerstalkers on lads. We got a perp to catch.

From the article we can learn a bit about the victim, circumstance and setting, juvenile bottlenose, multiple bullets, Mae's Beach...But we will have to dig a bit deeper to discover what these things mean.

Lets exam the victim here, a juvenile bottlenose dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals known for their playful behavior and ability to form complex social groups called pods. They have excellent eyesight above and below water and they make clicks and whistles to communicate.

The weapon was a gun, based on bullets. With about 44% of Americans living in a household with a gun per a 2020 gallup poll that does not narrow it down much. What does stand out is the multiple bullets. This was a crime of passion.

The location. West Mae's Beach is a rustic gulf beach along the west side of the Creole Trail All-American Road. It is accessible by truck and by ATV and it is dog friendly. They just ask you to be a responsible dog parent.

A few details stand out upon this deeper dive. First the beach being accessible by truck and ATV could mean the body was dumped. Next, at first I assessed the multiple shots to mean a crime of passion. However, knowing what we know now about the bottlenose's keen above water eyesight it is entirely possible this juvenile bottlenose dolphin saw something they were not supposed to see and became a liability.

Another notable bottlenose tid bit was the complex social groups they form and live in "Pods". These "Pods" remind me of some other complex social groups...gangs. I will not go as far to suggest this dolphin was a Dooney Boy or part of the 9th Ward G-strip Gang. But I would be remiss to dismiss a 2022 article in The Advocate where Police Chief Murphy Paul warned of increased gang violence in Louisiana.

The context of these elements is helpful as we search for a motive that can send us to a suspect.

***

Okay, He was Dooney boy, it was his set, his "Pod" but this Juvenile Bottlenose Dolphin never wanted that life. He broke away from his pod to one of the most rustic beaches west of the Creole All-American Road Trail. The dolphin came close to the beach to use his excellent above water eyesight and enjoy the sights and sounds of the pups on West Mae. But you don't get to choose the life as a Dooney Boy. The Dooney Boy life chooses you and there's only one way out.. POP POP POP POP

It was a gang hit set up by his own. They could not have him run from them knowing what he knew as one of the most highly intelligent marine mammals. The tide took the body to shore for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to find. Let them know Dooney Boys still up.

Perhaps.

My extensive research on the Bottlenose dolphins did have one theme that kept repeating, highly social, highly intelligent, highly social, highly intelligent. It jarred something deep in my brain I had read a long time ago....

MARGARET LOVEATT!

The girl who loved the dolphin. The Guardian had written an article years ago about a Nasa-funded project that went wrong. One of the results was Margaret Lovatt who carried out a relationship with a dolphin, "Peter" who she described as, a young guy, sexually coming of age and a bit naughty. Crime of passion is back on the table.

***

It is dusk in Cameron Parish a young woman returns to her home to a waiting fiance. He has been home for several hours. A prepared cold dinner sits on the table as she enters in beach attire and a glow from the sun, or maybe something more.

"West Mae again huh...I can reheat this. I was waiting for you..."

He trails off as she floats past the dining room into the bathroom and the shower turns on. His head falls to his hands, the moment passes and he sits back with a sigh. Admiring his darling fiancees latest painting that hangs across from him. She is very talented. It's a dolphin, a recent theme of hers since the return of beach season and her frequent trips to West Mae. She had painted dozens in the last few weeks, always West Mae, always a dolphin, always the same one. A smiling juvenile bottlenose dolphin.

The shower had stopped and a hair dryer hummed through the wall for a few minutes before she exited the bathroom.

"I'll reheat. How was the beach?"

He stood and took the chili garlic chicken fried rice from the table. It was a crockpot recipe he found on instagram. She loved fried rice. He hoped she would like this.

"Beach was good. Can you come back to the table? I just want to talk for a second."

Softly turning from the kitchen back to the dining room he saw her sitting across the table framed by the doorway below the latest dolphin depiction. He met her distant gaze.

Deep swallow.

"Is it someone else?"

"Something else..."

He could see several of her latest works behind her, his eyes darted between them, noticing the constant, knowing the truth.

The Juvenile Bottlenose dolphin flying high above the water, smiling, almost laughing. Laughing at him. How could this happen? How could this happen to him again?

He spun back to the kitchen stumbling to the refrigerator and grasping into the space between the fridge top and cabinet bottom. He was part of the 44%. It was loaded because what good would it be if it was not.

He spun back to face his fiancee.

"Oh my god, please no, please I am sorry, you don't understand..."

He stormed by her with his weapon at his side.

Is that what she thought? He didn’t understand? He would shoot her? How could she think so lowly of them to imagine he would do such a thing? She didn't understand. He had loved her. Just maybe not enough.

The 2011 Silverado reversed down the driveway and she appeared in the doorway screaming and frantic. All he could hear were clicks and whistles. The doorway became distant, the darkness became close. No headlights tonight. No light.

Truck access to West Mae Beach had made this a popular date spot for him in his youth. He knew a spot and he knew the way by heart even in the darkness.

He had even taken her there for a date. A bright June day six years prior to that night. Packed a picnic and shared his special spot with her. It had been a great day. He thought of it often.

The Silverado slowed to a roll about 400 meters from the clearing that revealed the rustic spot he had found all those years ago. His spot.

In the moonlight a gray lump shimmered the ocean washing up on its stomach. The smoke from a camel crush floated about the beak of a familiar face. A juvenile bottlenose dolphin lay on its back using it's excellent above water eyesight it admired the stars, a post coitus smile on it’s face...

Headlights NOW.

You know? The more I think about that one the less likely it seems. Maybe it was just someone who happened to see a beached young dolphin and believing it to be the honorable or noble thing to do they decided to put it out of its misery without knowing what a serious crime they were committing.

This working theory still leaves me with no suspect. If these theories were helpful for you in identifying any leads please reach out to the NOAA hotline directly at 800-853-1964 and please consider paying me a finder's fee of sorts for all my hard investigative work. Thank you.

-Calvin

AP STORY

Calcasieu Parish Tourist Commission. (n.d.). Mae's Beach. Visit Lake Charles. https://www.visitlakecharles.org/listing/maes-beach/151485/

Gallup. (2020, November 13). What Percentage of Americans Own Guns? https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx

Toohey, G. (2022, August 25). Warning of increased gang violence, Baton Rouge police plan heavy presence in targeted areas. The Advocate. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/warning-of-increased-gang-violence-baton-rouge-police-plan-heavy-presence-in-targeted-areas/article_2ba9f752-3ab2-11ed-9b19-636217ee3de5.html

Saner, E. (2014, June 8). The dolphin who loved me. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/08/the-dolphin-who-loved-me