Key facts
- Name: Jake Allen Latiolais
- Born: June 17, 1992
- Age at disappearance: 22
- Last seen: August 29, 2014
- Location: Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Height / build: 5’8″–5’10”, 130–150 lbs, brown hair, brown eyes
- Distinguishing marks: Cross-shaped scar on his left wrist; may have had a short mustache and beard
- Medical: Broken foot in an orthopedic boot and a broken right hand — he was using crutches
- Family: Father of a young daughter
- Status: Still missing — case unsolved
- Investigating agencies: Baton Rouge Police Department; West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office
The truck that was still running
In the early morning hours of August 29, 2014, Jake Latiolais was sitting on the railing of the Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, next to his pickup. Someone spoke to him around 2:00 a.m.; Jake said he was on his way to West Baton Rouge.
He never arrived.
An anonymous call reported someone had jumped from the bridge — 175 feet to the river below. Police searched the river and found no body. What they found was Jake’s truck, still running.
Inside the truck: his cell phone. His cigarettes. And a trolling motor he had just bought. Missing: his wallet — and his crutches. Jake had a broken foot in a walking boot and a broken right hand. A man in that condition does not walk away from his crutches. Twelve years later, the case remains unsolved, and Jake Latiolais has never been found.
The life before the bridge
Jake was from Brusly, Louisiana, on the west bank of the river — 22, a father to a young daughter. He loved fishing, working on cars, and drawing; people sometimes hired him to draw on the walls of homes and businesses. He smoked cigarettes.
On August 27, 2014, two days before the bridge, Jake had dinner with his grandmother and his brother. No substantiated sightings of Jake exist after that dinner — more than 24 hours before the truck on the bridge, a gap no one has ever filled.
What his mother found
When Jake’s mother checked his apartment, she found signs of a struggle — holes punched in the walls, a window punched out — and many belongings gone: his TV, his guns. His crutches were never recovered, from the apartment or anywhere else.
His mother believes her son met with foul play, and that someone staged the bridge scene to make his disappearance look like a suicide. It is the detail that keeps this case from settling into the obvious reading: a man contemplating the river does not first have his apartment ransacked and his crutches taken.
What the bridge suggests — and doesn’t
An abandoned, still-running vehicle on a bridge over the Mississippi invites one obvious reading: that Jake went into the river, by choice or by accident or by someone else’s hand. The Mississippi at Baton Rouge is wide, fast, and deep; it does not return what it takes — or returns it a hundred miles downstream, unrecognizable, months later.
But “obvious” is not “proven” — and a man with a broken foot does not climb a bridge railing easily, with or without crutches.
The 911 callers have never been publicly identified. A family-run advocacy page has questioned the handling of the early-morning calls; law enforcement has not publicly addressed those claims. What is known is only the negative space: no confirmed sightings since, no body recovered and identified, no arrest, no resolution.
Theories: what might have happened
He went into the river. The leading inference: the 2:00 a.m. conversation on the railing, the anonymous call about a jumper, an idling truck, a driver who never came back. Supports it: the call, the location, twelve years of silence. Undercuts it: the missing wallet and crutches, the ransacked apartment — none of which a suicide explains.
Foul play, staged to look like a suicide. His mother’s reading. Supports it: the holes in the walls, the punched-out window, the missing TV and guns, the crutches never found anywhere. Undercuts it: no witness to a second person on the bridge, no suspect ever named.
He walked away. Supports it: almost nothing — only that no body was ever found. Undercuts it: nearly everything. A 22-year-old with a broken foot and a broken hand, without his crutches, wallet, or phone, abandoning a running truck on an interstate bridge and never contacting his daughter for twelve years.
Have information?
Contact the Baton Rouge Police Department at (225) 389-4617 or the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office at (225) 343-9234. The family has offered a $2,500 reward for information that helps bring Jake home. NCMEC: 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- August 29, 2014, ~2:00 a.m. — Jake is seen sitting on the railing of the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi at Baton Rouge, next to his pickup. He says he is headed to West Baton Rouge. An anonymous call reports someone jumped from the bridge, 175 feet to the river.
- August 29, 2014 (later) — Police search the river; no body. Jake’s truck is found still running on the bridge: phone, cigarettes, newly bought trolling motor inside; wallet and crutches missing.
- Days after — Jake’s mother checks his apartment: holes in the walls, a window punched out, TV and guns gone. The crutches are never recovered.
- 2014–2021 — Few public details; no resolution.
- February 2021 — The Unfound podcast reviews the public evidence in Jake’s case.
- August 2022 — The Vanished podcast covers the case (Episode 358), noting the unknown 911 callers.
- July 2024 — Podcast coverage notes the family is offering a $2,500 reward.
- 2026 — Midday Missing features Jake alongside Nelda Hardwick as Louisiana cases still unsolved.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Jake Latiolais still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Jake Latiolais has been missing for twelve years — never located, no remains identified as his.
What was found inside Jake Latiolais’s truck?
His cell phone, cigarettes, and a newly bought trolling motor. His wallet and crutches were missing — and Jake, with a broken foot in a walking boot and a broken right hand, needed those crutches to get around.
Is there a reward in the Jake Latiolais case?
The family has offered a $2,500 reward for information that helps bring Jake home, as noted in 2024 podcast coverage.
How old would Jake Latiolais be today?
Jake was born June 17, 1992 — he would be 34 in 2026.
Where was Jake Latiolais’s truck found?
On the Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge — still running, with Jake nowhere to be found.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Contact the Baton Rouge Police Department at (225) 389-4617 with any information.
Sources
- Official: Baton Rouge Police Department — (225) 389-4617; West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office — (225) 343-9234; National Center for Missing & Exploited Children — 1-800-843-5678.
- Reference: The Charley Project — Jake Allen Latiolais; NamUs case #30724 (via Unfound).
- Media: The Vanished, Episode 358 (August 2022); Unfound, Episode 235 (February 2021); Midday Missing — “Nelda Hardwick & Jake Latiolais” (TCWT Media, 2026); Over the Horizon and Far Away, Episode 28 (July 2024).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.