Missing Louisiana chef, feared dead, reappears while local news crews are reporting on his disappearance

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — It's the twist no one saw coming: 48-year-old Demietriek Scott, known in his New Orleans community as "Chef Scott," returned to the site of his food truck on Monday after being declared missing — and feared dead.

It had been a rollercoaster of emotions for Scott's family. He had been reported missing on June 10, after his loved ones said they hadn't seen or heard from him in weeks.

Earlier on Monday, Scott's family had also been called to the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office to identify a body that had been discovered in the Florida Area neighborhood of NOLA.

It was ultimately determined the body wasn't Scott's, so they held out hope he was still alive.

They were right. Scott appeared at the site of his food truck in the 7th Ward on Monday afternoon to find news crews, letting his loved ones know he had returned home.

Scott didn't say where he had been, though he told Nexstar's WGNO he didn't leave New Orleans — he was just taking time to himself to focus on his mental health.

"I just needed a moment, you know what I mean?" he said. "I work hard. I work almost 24 hours a day, so many days consecutively. I just got overwhelmed with just life and business and everything."

Scott, the chef and founder behind the Chef Scott Creole BBQ food truck, told WGNO he was surprised to learn that news of his disappearance had spread so quickly. He also thanked those who cared for his concerned family during the ordeal.

"For whoever knows me, made a post, called, searched, looked, thought, bought some food or whatever, thank y'all so much. Because I may not express it as much, but it really means so much."