The discovery of the single-engine vessel on which Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, both 14, got lost at sea during a burst of severe weather on July 24 was confirmed Saturday by the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Perry and Austin, both 14, departed for a weekend-long fishing trip Friday, July 24, on a 19-foot-long boat and were last seen purchasing $110 worth of fuel for the vessel in Jupiter, Florida, before disappearing sometime that afternoon.
Days after the teens went missing, the U.S. Coast Guard located the vessel off the coast of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Families of the two missing boaters in Florida say they have called off their private search for the boys.
Fedor said the Coast Guard’s search covered an area just under 50,000 square nautical miles, or 66,200 square miles, a space nearly the size of the state of Missouri.
The teens went missing in July 2015 after leaving Jupiter Inlet on a fishing trip.
Guy Rubin, the Cohen family’s lawyer, said the family has not had any contact with the Stephanos family about its plans. The boat was inspected by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer and marked with a beacon, but was not immediately secured.
Experts had to determine they had the right boat before they said anything.
The sniping between the two families comes almost nine months after their sons, both 14, disappeared after heading out of the Jupiter Inlet on a 19-foot boat.
“We love our boys and want them home”. “So the fact that eight months later, two vital pieces of information and evidence has been recovered. why the investigation wouldn’t be reopened to look into that and find the answers, it doesn’t make any sense”.
The Norwegian research boat Edda Fjord was on its way back to Norway when it found the capsized boat, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss.
Officials said personal items were also found on board, including the iPhone that was discovered in a compartment. The iPhone remains with law enforcement today, according to the Cohen family. I hope that the phone and personal belongings found on the boat leads the family one step closer to finding a moment of peace.
Cohen’s mother released a statement.
“We have no choice but to reach out to State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s office who can simply issue a warrant which would allow FWC to turn over the phone to proper investigating authorities so the phone can be evaluated by experts”. He said his clients have had no formal communication with the Stephanos family about the phone, so “I am not sure what their intentions are”.
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The boat and its contents are expected to arrive by shipping container at Port Everglades, south of the spot where it departed in July previous year, on May 16.
