Missing Florida Teens' Boat Recovered Months Later

The 19-foot Sea Craft boat Tequesta teens Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen took out on a fishing trip last July offshore of Jupiter Inlet has reportedly been recovered in a shipping lane near Bermuda.

Cohen and Stephanos, both 14 at the time of their disappearance, never returned from that fishing trip, sparking a search that would last days. While the U.S. Coast Guard began its search just after 5 p.m. on the night the boys disappeared, it efforts ended at sunset July 31 with few clues found to explain what happened to the teens.

The coast guard’s search covered more than 44,000 square nautical miles from Florida to North Carolina. The boys were never found. The coast guard did find the teens’ boat near New Smyrna Beach during its search, but when officials returned to tow it into shore a few days later, it had disappeared – taking any clues with it. At the time, the coast guard said securing the boat was not its priority; finding the teens was.

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• Private Search Continues For 2 Missing Teen Boaters
• Search for 2 Missing Teen Boaters Suspended

Teens’ boat has now reportedly been recovered courtesy of a Norwegian research vessel on its way back to its home country from Bermuda. Crew members found the teen’s capsized boat on March 18 about 100 miles offshore of Bermuda, the Palm Beach Post reported. An iPhone belonging to one of the teens and other items were also found. The discovery was reportedly called into the U.S. Coast Guard and the boat was taken back to Norway, the Post reported.

The boat is expected to be transported back to Florida sometime in May.

Answers about just what happened to the teens, who were reportedly both experienced boaters, have remained elusive. The boys’ families and friends undertook their own search when official efforts ended. After months with no major leads in the case, the families turned their attentions toward promoting boater safety. A boater safety bill was even passed by the Florida House and Senate. The bill, signed by Gov. Rick Scott, earlier this year offers discounts on annual vessel-registration fees if boaters have registered emergency locator devices on board.

The coast guard has not officially acknowledged the Norwegian ship’s reported discovery. The guard has not issued a media release on the find, nor did it immediately respond to a phone call and email from Patch.

Whether the boat’s discovery will lead to the answers the teens’ families have been seeking remains unknown. Pamela Cohen, Perry’s mother, was quoted by the Post as saying she hopes the discovery reinvigorates investigations into the disappearance.

“We’d like to have some sort of closure,” the Post quoted Perry’s father, Nick Korniloff, as saying.

Read the Palm Beach Post’s full story here.

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