LSU Radio Voice Rescued From Flood Waters

Jim Hawthorne

LSU athletics department spokesman Michael Bonnette confirmed that legendary Tigers radio voice Jim Hawthorne and his wife were rescued from their Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home on Sunday.

According to ESPN, LSU officials spent part of Sunday frantically searching for Hawthorne, who went missing after torrential rainfall flooded his neighborhood in Baton Rouge. At one point Sunday, LSU officials asked the public for help on social media in locating Hawthorne and his wife.

Bonnette said Hawthorne's cell service had been down since Saturday, so his family and friends were unable to reach him.

"We were launching a boat to go rescue him," Bonnette said. "He's been found and he's safe."

When ESPN reached Bonnette on Sunday, he said he was riding in a boat in Baton Rouge, trying to find other residents who needed help.

"Since we have a boat, we're going to rescue other people," Bonnette said. "We're in a boat riding down a four-lane highway in 4 or 5 feet of water. We're getting through without any problems."

Hawthorne, 72, retired as LSU's radio play-by-play announcer last season. He had been the voice of Tigers' football since 1983 and also called men's basketball games starting in 1979.