Devastating Conditions

After Joyce's body swept away in the floodwaters, Robert and his brother David made repeated calls to Louisiana authorities about organizing search parties. They say they even provided information—such as the exact location where they believed their mother's remains could be found—to help in the recovery. The state still wasn't able to locate her. "They said they were out here with dogs," David says. "They said they searched a 10-mile area."

David and Robert simply did not accept that their mother couldn't be found. "I just got to the point where I said, 'I don't think you're telling the truth,'" David says. "I said, 'Me and my brothers, we'll go find my mom. We'll do that since you all can't.'"