The Coast Guard now acknowledges the missing teens’ boat found capsized late last month is missing.
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss says when the Coast Guard first spotted the boat during the search, they dropped a marker buoy and told a commercial salvage company to go get the boat that same day. Doss says by the time the salvage crew got to the location 67 miles offshore at night, the boat wasn’t there.“We kept an eye out for the boat throughout the search however our focus was trying to find the two boys in the water not trying to save someone’s personal property”, said Doss.
The Coast Guard’s search for Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen is suspended unless new evidence is found. The families’ private search with volunteers continues. A gofundme account for Perry and Austin has raised nearly $470,000 in a week.
The fourteen year olds have been lost at sea for more than a week.