Mom Whose Son Was Lost At Sea Files Suit Against Family Of His Friend Who Was Also Never Found

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Monday marked two years since Pamela Cohen's beloved son was last seen alive. Perry Cohen, 14, a part-time resident of Southampton, was never found after he was reported missing in July 2015 after a Florida fishing trip.

Last Friday, Cohen filed a civil suit against the family of their son's friend; the complaint names Carly Black, Richard Brian "Bubba" Black Jr., William "Blu" Stephanos and Richard Kuntz.

For Art Southampton founders Nick Korniloff and Pamela Cohen, the years since Perry was reported missing have been filled with heartache. There was no sign of the boys, Cohen and Austin Stephanos, who were lost at sea during bad weather. They had filled up the boat with $110 in fuel near Jupiter — and were never seen again.

According to the complaint, Perry had asked his mom if he could sleep over at Austin's house so they could go fishing; the two had been friends for three years. The complaint also says that Cohen and Korniloff told the Blacks that Perry was not allowed to go out on the boat without an adult on board and permission from his mother.

Also according to the complaint, Kuntz, Austin's grandfather, purchased the boat and "knew or should have known" that the vessel wasn't equipped for an ocean fishing trip by 14-year-old boys.

"If he was not permitted to travel into the ocean, against his mother’s explicit wishes, and despite promises she received from Defendants that they would honor her wishes, Perry would be alive today," the lawsuit states.

According to CBS12.com, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement commenced an investigation on possible child neglect.

The complaint filed by Cohen states that the teens headed out on the Intracoastal Waterway, stopping at Stephanos' grandmother's and telling her they were going "dolphin fishing;" also according to the report, he contacted his mother, Black, telling her they were safe.

A "rough storm" with 40 mph winds broke out near where the boys were fishing, the complaint states.

The complaint alleges that the Blacks never contacted law enforcement or search and rescue authorities; Carly Black did not contact Cohen until 4:12 p.m., although the boys had been missing since 11:25 a.m., the complaint states.

The FDLE report said the accident could have been avoided, and an “egregious lapse in judgment and failure to exercise due care” led to the tragedy, the Miami Herald reported.

However, no charges were filed.

Black tried to block the legal proceedings but a judge gave the green light for Cohen to move ahead, the Miami Herald said; The report added: “Responsible parents would have checked the weather before letting the kids go out. Responsible parents would have respected the directions and trust given to them by the parents of a child in their custody,” Perry’s family said in a statement.

After the civil suit was announced, Austin Stephanos' family also issued a statement, which said, according to CBS12.com, that Black's husband Bubba was out of the country on the day of the accident, and, "The Cohen family alleges that Carly, and her family members, caused the death of Perry as well as at the death of Carly’s own child, Austin. The evidence will contradict these allegations made by the Cohens’ attorney . . . as well as the claims made in this lawsuit. This loss was a tragedy for both families, and this course of protracted litigation chosen by the Cohen family will not bring the boys back."

In the CBS12.com post, Michael Pike, attorney for Blu Stephanos, said his client, who is divorced from Black, had not known the boys were going fishing and that his son was in the custody of his mother; he also searched for the boys for hours.

Eight months after the ill-fated fishing trip, the boys' boat was found off the Bermuda coast, according to CNN.com, which reported that a marine supply store sticker and engine serial number helped to identify the vessel.

There was no sign of the boys.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed that the boat was found.

Also recovered was an iPhone belonging to Stephanos, which became the center of a legal battle in 2016. According to wbpf.com, Cohen and her husband filed a lawsuit to keep the phone from being released back to Stephanos' parents.

According to the report, Cohen's son was using his friend's phone, and she believes the phone might hold a clue to those fateful moments before he was lost.

The last text Cohen received from her son has been revealed: "“Mom, it’s Perry. My iPad is dead, I’ll text you in a little. Love you,” Cohen wrote to his heartbroken mom on July 24, 2015, according to CBS Miami.

The Coast Guard completed a total of 39 search patterns in its hunt for the two boys. Coast Guard crews with support from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office covered nearly 31,000 square nautical miles, spanning from Jupiter to Charleston, S.C., with no luck locating the boys.

A Coast Guard crew out of Clearwater initially found the boys’ 19-foot boat capsized about 67 nautical miles off the coast of Ponce Inlet — but it was later lost, as it had not been secured, according to sun-sentinel.com.

A single life jacket was found floating in the water.

With no clues, the families held onto hope during the darkest of hours.

“They are extremely athletic and knowledgeable about the water and we know that they are doing everything that they possibly can to stay afloat and wait for us to come and get them,” WESH.com quoted Cohen, Perry’s mother, as saying.

The families offered a $100,000 reward for the safe return of their sons.

NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath even issued a plea to raise awareness about the boys’ disappearance. The teens, he said during a news conference, are experienced boaters. Namath is Cohen’s neighbor.

Guy Rubin, attorney for Cohen, and George Harris, attorney for Carly Black, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Photos of Perry Cohen courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.