Private Search Continues for 2 Missing Teen Boaters

The families of two Florida teenagers reported missing after a July 24 fishing trip out of Jupiter are not giving up hope their boys will be found.

Armed with more than $480,000 raised via a gofundme campaign launched last week, the families are funding a private search effort to locate Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14.

“We are committed to continuing the search to find our Austin and Perry,” the families said in a statement released Tuesday. “The outpouring of community support for our families in our time of need has been overwhelming.”

The U.S. Coast Guard kicked off its official search for the two boys July 24 just after 5 p.m. That search came to an end at sunset July 31. During its weeklong effort, the coast guard and partner agencies combed more than 44,000 square nautical miles from Florida to North Carolina with no luck finding the boys.

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Austin and Perry’s 19-foot Sea Craft was located on Sunday, July 26, capsized in waters about 67 nautical miles off the coast of Ponce Inlet. A single life jacket was found floating in the water. The boat has since been reported missing. The coast guard has stated securing the boat after its discovery was not the priority; the search for the teens was.

As this time, the privately funded search is focusing on the coastline from Jupiter to Wilmington, N.C. “Searchers are using containment fields in the Gulf Stream, scouring coastal waters, and investigating debris fields,” a media release on the search stated.

Support for the families’ efforts to keep the search alive has been so strong, the gofundme campaign exceeded its fundraising goal and is no longer accepting donations. It is unclear if the campaign will be reopened.

Photos of Perry and Austin courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard