John Delatte 28, from Mansfied, TX -Mardi Gras- NOLA 2-5-08(BODY FOUND)

[Nut44x4]

Wife reports Mansfield man missing after Mardi Gras

07:29 PM CST on Thursday, February 14, 2008
By MATT GOODMAN / The Dallas Morning News

A missing-persons report has been filed for a Mansfield man who vanished while in New Orleans with his family to celebrate Mardi Gras.

John and Melissa Delatte, both 28, surprised their three children with a trip to New Orleans to visit family on Feb. 4.

The following day, Mr. Delatte took the family's vehicle to meet up with a friend at a bar. Ms. Delatte called him at the bar, and that was the last time they spoke, she said.

"We want him home," said Ms. Delatte, who is six months pregnant. "He's a good husband, a hard worker and a great dad, and this is totally unlike him to disappear."

New Orleans authorities said they do not suspect foul play.

Records show that Mr. Delatte has not used his cellphone. But authorities said someone used his debit card the night he disappeared, and the card has been used several times since then.

The Delattes' 2004 Ford Expedition is also missing.

Ms. Delatte and her family have called jails, hospitals, impound lots and towing companies, she said. Ms. Delatte has requested surveillance tapes from the bar.

She has walked the French Quarter, retracing her husband's footsteps. So far, the family has turned up few clues.

Ms. Delatte plans to distribute fliers in New Orleans. Her sister-in-law has created a MySpace page to help spread news of the disappearance.

"Every single day we're looking for him. We've just about exhausted all means trying to find him. We just want to give everyone some kind of closure," said Robert Raccuglia, Mr. Delatte's childhood friend and co-worker.

The two men work at QMax America Environment Solutions in Fort Worth as engineers in charge of drilling and everyday operations, said Mr. Raccuglia, of Crowley.

News stations were publicizing Mr. Delatte's disappearance and a description of his vehicle in hopes that someone would recognize it, police said.

Ms. Delatte said she and her husband have been married six years and have known each other since they were 12. She said her husband has never disappeared like this.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021508dnmetmissing.bf5b2965.html

[Nut44x4]

Texas Man Missing Since Mardi Gras
New Orleans Police say 28-year-old John Delatte has not been seen since Mardi Gras day.

The last time he was seen was 10 PM at Razoo's Bar on Bourbon Street. Since then, Delatte has not had any contact with his family, something his wife says is not like him.

Delatte's SUV is also missing. It is a 2004 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer Edition, with Texas license plate 9VWM87.

If you can help find Delatte, call Detective Jason Giroir at 658-6080.
http://neworleanscw38.trb.com/wgno_news_021208missingman,0,1411795.story

[Nut44x4]

Man disappeared during Mardi Gras
By MITCH MITCHELLStar-Telegram Staff Writer
Police and a Mansfield woman are asking for the public's help to find a man who disappeared in New Orleans on Mardi Gras.

John DeLatte, 28, was last seen at 10 p.m. Feb. 5 at Razoo's Bar and Grill, 511 Bourbon St., where he was meeting a friend, said his wife, Melissa DeLatte, 28.

Melissa DeLatte, who is six months pregnant, said she talked to the friend soon after her husband disappeared. The friend said John told him that he was going home after the bar, Melissa DeLatte said. That was the last anyone has heard from him.

Police don't have any evidence of foul play, said New Orleans police spokeswoman Sabrina Richardson.

Also missing is John DeLatte's vehicle, a red 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition, with Texas license plate 9VWM87.

New Orleans police said that John DeLatte has not used his telephone, but that someone has used his debit card several times.

DeLatte is white, 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds. Anyone with information on John DeLatte should contact Detective Jason Giroir with the New Orleans police at 504-658-6080.

http://www.star-telegram.com/national_news/story/475746.html

[Nut44x4]

The Dallas Morning News (Texas)
 
February 21, 2008 Thursday 
 
 
Mansfield family baffled by father's French Quarter disappearance  
Feb. 21--New Orleans police still are searching for leads after a Mansfield man disappeared from the French Quarter on Feb. 5.

On Feb. 4, John Delatte and his wife Melissa, both 28, surprised their three children by taking them to New Orleans to visit family. Mr. Delatte went to meet a friend at a bar the next evening and hasn't been heard from since.

The Delatte's 2004 Ford Expedition also remains missing.

Ms. Delatte said New Orleans police told her that her husband could be out doing "odd jobs to survive," but she dismissed that explanation.

"I don't see why he'd just up and leave his whole family when I'm pregnant and he has a field services job that pays better than any of these odd jobs," Ms. Delatte said.

Ms. Delatte and her three children extended their stay in New Orleans to search for Mr. Delatte. They posted fliers, canvassed the French Quarter for possible sightings and searched parking garages, lots and towing companies for their vehicle.

Their efforts produced no leads, and they have since returned to Mansfield.

New Orleans police previously reported that a credit card belonging to Mr. Delatte had been used several times since his disappearance, but they would not confirm that report during a Feb. 21 interview. His cellphone has not been used since he disappeared, police said.

"What I can say right now is we are working some leads, and they don't want to get into too much detail," said New Orleans police officer Sabrina Richardson. "We have not been able to contact him, and he has not contacted his family."

Ms. Delatte has built a Web site, www.bringjohnhome.com, that tracks media coverage and offers contact information, a message board and photos of Mr. Delatte. Ms. Delatte has also has begun adding her husband's information to a host of sites dedicated to finding missing adults, she said.

"I know he loves his family, he loves his children and he loves me," Ms. Delatte said. "His choice would be to be here with us, and if he isn't here right now, it is because someone took that choice away from him."
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:748673556&start=9

[Nut44x4]

Here are two websites

www.bringjohnhome.com
www.myspace.com/johndelatte

[Nut44x4]

Mansfield man missing since Mardi Gras is found dead in car in Louisiana
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/032108dnmetmardigras.dd4493a.html

09:09 PM CDT on Thursday, March 20, 2008
From staff reports

The body of a Mansfield man missing since Feb. 5 was pulled from a vehicle found in a canal outside New Orleans on Thursday.

John Delatte, 28, his pregnant wife and their three children went to New Orleans on Feb. 4 to visit family members and celebrate Mardi Gras. The next day, Mr. Delatte went to meet a friend at a bar in the French Quarter and disappeared afterward.

After a passer-by reported guardrail damage next to a canal near Lake Pontchartrain in Metairie, La., divers found a Ford Expedition with Texas license plates and Mr. Delatte's body inside.

Col. John Fortunato of the Jefferson Parish sheriff's office said there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body, and he had no reason to suspect foul play. Investigators will wait for a medical examiner's autopsy to determine the cause of death.

[Nut44x4]

Here is a map of where he was found. For anyone interested..there is a photo of his smashed SUV being pulled from the canal at this link...... as well as a description of the scene, in detail.
 http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/body_found_in_vehicle_submerge.html         I won't post the photo.