Missing New Orleans chef turns up alive after reports of his death

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE/Gray News) - A New Orleans chef who was reported missing then dead turned up alive in a bizarre twist.

Demietriek Scott, 47, was reported missing Saturday. Police say the person who made the report had not had any contact in person or via cell phone with Scott in two weeks, according to WVUE.

Family members said Monday that the Orleans Parish Coroner’s office had given them a preliminary notification that a dead body found dumped in the Ninth Ward earlier that morning was believed to be Scott.

But shortly before 4 p.m., as reporters gathered near the family’s house to report on Scott’s presumed death, the missing chef suddenly walked up – very much still alive.

“I’ve been around,” Scott told WVUE. “I essentially just needed some time for myself. ... Life caves in on you sometimes, and that’s just what happened. ... I just needed to get away from everything and just stay in a little while.”

Scott said he was “truly grateful” for the outpouring of concern.

“It makes a difference,” he said. “I just needed to sit still ... and get a moment for me.”

Scott, born and raised in the Seventh Ward, operates Chef Scott’s Creole BBQ food truck. He has cooked at some of the city’s most famous restaurants, including Commander’s Palace, Windsor Court and Redfish Grill.

Police are trying to figure out how and why the dead body, initially believed to be that of Scott, was left on the side of the road under the France Street bridge. The identity of the deceased remains unknown.

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