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Search moves north for missing teens after boat found: 'No souls on board'

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BayGBM: What kind of parents allow 14 year olds to take out a motorboat to go fishing on the ocean?  Bad ones.  If these kids are ever found they should immediately be taken away and placed in the custody of Child Protective Services. >:( Search moves north for missing teens after boat found: 'No souls on board' By Brian Ballou and Mike Clary The search in the Atlantic Ocean for two missing teens moved north up the coast toward Jacksonville Monday, a day after their capsized fishing boat was found drifting nearly 200 miles from where the pair left port. Best friends Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14, were last seen Friday morning when they motored out of Jupiter Inlet in a 19-foot center console boat that was recovered at 11 am Sunday about 70 miles east of Daytona Beach, the Coast Guard said. The boat had "no souls on board," Tequesta Police said. The Coast Guard continued to search overnight Sunday and into Monday, according to Petty Officer First Class Stephen Lehmann. "We want to give them the best chance we possibility can," said Lehmann. The overnight search was conducted by five vessels and a Coast Guard C-130 airplane out of Elizabeth City, N.C., Lehmann said. With sunrise Monday and improved visibility, Lehmann said a helicopter would be added to the mix. Meanwhile, the families of the boys maintained an anxious vigil in the Tequesta-Jupiter area of northern Palm Beach County. Early Monday, Perry's mother and stepfather, Nick Korniloff, were joined by family friend NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath in an interview on CNN. "Let's just keep praying and the Coast Guard will keep on searching," Namath said during the interview. More prayers were offered Sunday evening when hundreds of supporters crowded into a gymnasium at Jupiter Christian School, where Stephanos is a student. "We pray God will bring them back safely. We lift up to him a tremendous need we have to see the two young men returned safely to us," school president Jim Colman said to open a 45-minute community meeting. Earlier in the day, Carly Black stood outside her home, holding her 2-year-old son Bo. She said Austin and Perry went fishing offshore routinely, checking in every couple of hours. When they failed to do so by 2:30 p.m. Friday, she began texting her son and got no response. At 5 p.m. Friday, the family called the Coast Guard to report the boys missing. Black said the boys were going fishing at an area not far offshore where a ledge gives way to a depth of 200 to 300 feet, a prime fishing location. "We are going to bring them home," Black said. At 2:30 p.m. Friday, a line of strong thunderstorms was moving toward the area. At 3:15 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a special marine warning, saying that heavy rains and winds in excess of 40 mph were possible. The storms likely kicked up the seas and would have made for a rough ride, said meteorologist Andrew Kennedy. "Especially if they were in the Gulf Stream," he said, of the fast-moving current of warm water that parallels the coast. "The thunderstorms caused the higher seas because the seas themselves were only 1 to 2 feet, pretty low." Because the boat was found near Daytona Beach, it's possible they were pulled north by the Gulf Stream. Tequesta Police Chief Christopher Elg met Sunday with family members at the Stephanos home on Bay Harbor Road. "The mood is hopeful all around, we are holding on to that hope … it's the only thing we can do," he said. The teens' white boat was found capsized about 70 miles east of Daytona Beach, the Coast Guard said. "The boat hasn't been righted," Lehmann said Sunday. "We're using that as a position to search from." The single-engine boat was to be anchored in place while search-and-rescue efforts continue, said Lehmann. The boat's engine cover was gone, but one life jacket was on board, the Coast Guard said. The boat wasn't damaged, and there didn't appear to be anything missing, Lehmann said at a Sunday night news conference. The Coast Guard planned to search overnight an area roughly the size of Maine, Lehmann said. The Coast Guard had searched more than 25,000 nautical square miles by 7 p.m. Sunday. "This is an active search-and-rescue case," Lehmann said. "We maintain our perpetual optimism that we are going to find somebody." Austin and Perry were last seen Friday buying $110 worth of fuel at the Jib Yacht Club and Marina on Jupiter Island, authorities said. Based on a social media posting by the boys, authorities initially believed they may have been headed toward the Bahamas, but the parents told authorities that the boys typically do not go far from the marina, Coast Guard Cpl. Mark Barney said. "After speaking to the parents, they're pretty certain these boys wouldn't have ventured that far off," said Barney. "We're doing our best to do everything we can to search for these boys and bring them back home safely." Conducting the search Sunday were a Coast Guard C-130 airplane out of Clearwater, a Miami-based helicopter crew and a HR 144 plane, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection planes, and two Coast Guard cutters, the Sawfish and the Paul Clark, Barney said. Barney said many pilots and boaters had volunteered to help with the search. "Volunteers searching is one of the things we're trying to discourage," said Barney. "Although we appreciate people pitching in, we don't want to create a dangerous situation and have people injured." The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office was also assisting with the search, as were the Jupiter and Tequesta police departments. Perry Cohen's mother, Pam Tevi Cohen, said that a $60,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the boys' safe return. Despite advice from authorities not to conduct their own search, the families of the boys have been searching in private planes. "I understand they're doing their job," Black said in reference to the Coast Guard's advice. Austin Stephanos is the great-grandson of well-known developer Otto DiVosta, who revolutionized how multi-families homes were built in South Florida by introducing an assembly-line process. His company built more than 40,000 homes in Florida, creating numerous developments in Palm Beach County. At the vigil, people who know the teens wiped away tears. Even people who don't know the teens felt compelled to show community support. "I just wanted to be here, to say a prayer for them. There is still hope," said Erin Mulligan, 17, a student at Martin County High School in Stuart.

Agnostic007: Saw a false report attributed to these teens that they were found floating on FB last week. The comments amounted to "Thank God.." and "God answers prayers..." and other things about miracles... wonder if all those people came to the realization prayers aren't answered... or if they just moved on to the next thing

BayGBM: Last I heard the gofundme page for them had nearly $500,000 in donations. ::) http://www.gofundme.com/perryandaustin "Our families' are committed to continue the search and rescue efforts of our boys with the aid of volunteer pilots and aircraft. This fund will continue to be utilized to fund private aircraft, boat fuel and any other additional resources needed for the immediate recovery of our missing boys."

240 is Back: they headed INTO a storm warning, shark hunting, alone.   Very sad, but TERRIBLE parenting.  This storm was brutal, just beat up on FL for days.

BayGBM: Life Jackets Found in Private Search for Missing 14-Year-Old Boaters By KAYLEE HECK A Florida helicopter company found two orange life jackets off a sandbar in Savannah, Georgia, that could have been worn by missing teens Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos. Heli Aviation shared a video on Facebook of Tuesday’s discovery, writing, “Considering that the life vest recovery was during low tide it was only accessible by air.” The 14-year-old friends have been missing at sea since July 24 when they left the Florida coast in a 19-foot Sea Craft boat. Almost 49,000 square nautical miles were searched by the U.S. Coast Guard by July 31. The company noted it could not immediately confirm the jackets belonged to the missing boaters, but DEEMI, a search group based in Maine, has sent search dogs to go up and down the Georgia coast in response to the find, an official told ABC News. DEEMI has been involved in the private search for Cohen and Stephanos since the Coast Guard called off the official search July 31. The DEEMI search dogs are working to connect the scent from the jackets to the missing teens. The nonprofit has not confirmed the two life jackets belonged to Cohen and Stephanos. It’s also using technology to aid the search by taking and analyzing high-definition photos to canvas search areas, the official said. Heli Aviation, which did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment, announced Tuesday it is no longer assisting in the private search-and-rescue efforts, according to a Facebook post. The company wrote that it had received too much negative publicity after being accused of keeping funds raised for the search, which company officials said they donated to a family account. A GoFundMe page, The Perry & Austin Rescue Fund, has raised close to $500,000 to help provide aircraft and boat fuel for the private search. A phone call to family spokesman Vince McBeth was not immediately returned.

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