Search Officially Suspended – Find Austin & Perry
The Coast Guard has officially suspended the search for Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen.
The boaters, both 14, vanished one week ago after setting out to go fishing from the Jupiter Inlet.
The Coast Guard said the decision is gut-wrenching. The search could re-start with the discovery of new information or evidence.
The Coast Guard found their 19-foot capsized boat near the Ponce Inlet on Sunday.
The search to find Austin and Perry began in Jupiter and extended as far north as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and covered an area of just under 50,000 square nautical miles.
Thousands of people combed south Florida beaches to look for any signs of the teens.
Hundreds of volunteer pilots, young and old, had been taking to the air to look for the boys as well.
There have been vigils up and down the Florida coastline as people gathered and prayed for a positive outcome.
Family members and friends even formed a Facebook group dedicated to sharing information about the search and a GoFundMe page to help pay for the private search effort.
The Coast Guard said its crews searched 66 patterns with more than 60 assets, including 26 fixed wing aircraft, four helicopters, four small boats and 27 cutters.
Congressman Patrick Murphy urged the Coast Guard to keep searching.
“On behalf of the Jupiter community I am humbled to represent, I have a simple message for the Coast Guard: Keep looking. Water temperatures are warm, and Austin and Perry know the water well. Our community is incredibly grateful for the Cuttermen, Aviation Crewmembers, and Search and Rescue Planners of the Seventh Coast Guard District, who are scouring the Atlantic Coast for Austin and Perry. It has been long, thorough, and exhausting. But the search is not over. I urge the Coast Guard in the strongest possible terms to continue searching until our boys are found,” wrote Murphy in a statement.
