FL FL - Austin Stephanos & Perry Cohen, both 14, Jupiter, 24 July 2015 - #1

[IndianSummer]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/search-for-missing-tequesta-teens-enters-7th-day/nm858/
Update 10:02 a.m.: The Coast Guard’s search for Austin and Perry will continue through Thursday, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Steve Lehmann said.
It’s too early to tell if the search will continue Friday, Lehmann said.

 

[IndianSummer]

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news/57677609
Maxwell, who was suppose to go with them Friday, interview.
So they could potentially have 3 life jackets, good quality cooler, engine cover with them to use. Does anyone know how many times the rain has fallen in the search area. I'm just hoping rain water captured to drink in that cooler.

God speed them home
JMO

 

[IndianSummer]

http://www.newstalk990.com/news/articles/hope-for-miracle-dims-but-search-goes-on-for-missing-boys
...crews would continue surveying waters from Florida up through South Carolina throughout the day Thursday and overnight into Friday. A determination on plans for beyond that had not been made, but Doss said there were no immediate plans to call the search off since it was believed there was a chance the 14-year-olds, Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, were still alive.Doss called the decision on how long to continue looking for the teens a mix of "art and science," that juggles knowledge of how long people can survive adrift with unknowns on whether the boys had flotation devices and drinking water — and even the extent of their physical stamina.

 

[Aynia]

Sorry I didn't read all the posts but are they using thermal cameras? Wouldn't that help?

sent from my mobile using tapatalk

 

[lisa1990]

This might be a crazy theory but how does anyone even know they were on the boat? Is there any eyewitness of them being on the boat actually? All that is missing from the boat is the cooler definitely. The parents aren't even sure if there were life jackets on it. I dont know if this makes sense, but what if they wanted to run away or something we do not know their history really.

 

[BlueShoe]

I'm so angry. This morning my local radio station reported they had been found safe. So I came here expecting good news. Still trying to hold out hope.

 

[allmybecsloveme]

I'm so angry. This morning my local radio station reported they had been found safe. So I came here expecting good news. Still trying to hold out hope.

There was a similar thing that happened a few years back, two boys lost at sea. The article where they were found is going viral due to the similarity and them not reading dates.

I hope they are found soon but I haven't heard anything about them being found today unfortunately.

 

[allmybecsloveme]

This might be a crazy theory but how does anyone even know they were on the boat? Is there any eyewitness of them being on the boat actually? All that is missing from the boat is the cooler definitely. The parents aren't even sure if there were life jackets on it. I dont know if this makes sense, but what if they wanted to run away or something we do not know their history really.

I would say from where the boat was found that they or someone (most likely them) had to have been out there. I can't say for sure but I think it was found so far out that it couldn't have drifted out there in that time frame? Can someone confirm? I want to say with the current it actually was closer to shore than where it would have originated after flipping over...speculation though since I'm not an expert.

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

I'm so angry. This morning my local radio station reported they had been found safe. So I came here expecting good news. Still trying to hold out hope.

Oh, I'm sorry. This is one of those stories where I wish all media would adopt the strictest of policies...something like having 3 very solid, legit sources (I'm talking Coast Guard level legit on this one!)...then check again...and wait a bit and check back just one more time before ever reporting it.

In other words, SUPER CAREFUL AND RESPONSIBLE AND CAUTIOUS AND MAKE SURE. We'd rather wait to hear any good news -- rather than have false info out there...false info can cause tremendous pain for many.

ETA: Thanks to the poster above...sorry I can't see your name right now. I guess in this case, there was a mix-up with another case. Still wish MSM would be more cautious, but I'm just overall really upset about this story, so ignore me.

 

[dmc43613]

Based upon information shared by family there was a 64 Quart Yeti cooler and 4 life jackets on the boat, only one has been found. Per experienced mariners the cooler is extremely buoyant.

It is believed that they are very resourceful and used what they had to stay afloat. Time is the real enemy for these boys right now.

 

[WideOpen]

I have been in constant prayer for these boys. They were doing something they loved and was "normal" for them. I live along the South Carolina coast outside of Charleston and just saw a rescue helicopter heading inland. I am not sure it was from this search but to see the helicopter just makes it so real. This is also the area where the 2005 boys are from. They had a miracle. I hope and pray and hope and pray...JMO

 

[Hatfield]

Based upon information shared by family there was a 64 Quart Yeti cooler and 4 life jackets on the boat, only one has been found. Per experienced mariners the cooler is extremely buoyant.

It is believed that they are very resourceful and used what they had to stay afloat. Time is the real enemy for these boys right now.

Thanks. I have been trying to find info on the Yeti cooler whether it is boyant and I have not been able to find anything specific about it being a good floater or not. So thanks for confirming.

I did know that cooler is an expensive model and does great for keeping stuff cold but I was worried it was kind of heavy and I did not know about its floatation capabilities.

If they are clinging to that and if enough rain came down then there is still hope.

I know it gets harder and harder to believe they can still be alive out there but I am trying to keep hopes up.

They do have some things that go in their favor as compared to others.

-They are young so would be in good shape
-They are good swimmers so would know how to tread water or float on their backs to save energy
-They would immediately think to try to latch onto something like the cooler if they ended up in the water.
-Their life vests are missing so if they had them on then they will be floating.
-There are 2 of them to help keep their hopes up if they can talk to each other.
-No sign that they are not still out there floating. Like no clothes have been found or anything like that.

The searchers need to keep going at least for a few more days.
Please searchers. Please try for some more days because if anybody is going to last longer than most, it would be 2 young boys like that.

 

[Hatfield]

One of the kids sent a snapchat as they were leaving, it was of the back of the boat with them heading out to the ocean.

And we had another boat who was coming into shore that saw them going out to sea.

 

[whulfc86]

I forgot about that too! I believe it was reported that the boat coming in was surprised they were heading out because of the storm coming. The National Weather Service was also posting a marine warning at the same time they were heading out.

 

[T4Tide]

I just can't understand why they haven't found a large, white cooler, even if there's no sign of the boys.

 

[moonriverfarm]

I think ocean currents can carry something like a cooler many, many miles away in a short time. The cooler could be anywhere.
Heartbreaking for these families.

 

[Monkey41]

I keep hoping for the best but my thoughts keep turning negative. What if, during the storm the cooler left the boat and the boys weren't able to get to it? The tides were too much and took it too far away to safely attempt to retrieve it. Ugh. I hate that thought.

It seems to be a popular cooler with sportsmen, and expensive ($399-$599). Knowing it's value and reputation for being an outstanding product, hours later after the storm passed, another boater could have seen it floating and picked it up and spent the rest of the day/night with it on the boat. They could have went home innocently thinking "finders keepers". Hours/days later, said finder doesn't have the guts/heart to admit he took it. Or doesn't even know the significance. I'm just speculating. And I'm very sorry my thoughts are negative. I've got three boys of my own and I want nothing less than to see those beautiful boys hugging their moms today.

The cooler measures 31 x 18 x 17 and if they were able to keep control of it during the storm, I could imagine the two of them easily hanging on to it and supporting each other through difficult moments and being resourceful and brave together. I really hope they get reunited with their friends and family today.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeti-Tundra-C...e=UTF8&qid=1438277733&sr=8-1&keywords=yeti+65

 

[Hatfield]

I just can't understand why they haven't found a large, white cooler, even if there's no sign of the boys.

I think the sheer vastness is hard to comprehend for most people.
The square miles that have to be covered is unimaginable.
It is literally a needle in a haystack type of thing.

The searchers try to estimate where to look using estimated drift maps and current but it is still just a best guess and means a very large area is involved. Many square miles and trying to find a small object bobbing along with the white caps is very difficult.

If you have ever flown over portions of the Atlantic you get a sense of how difficult the task is.

I never quite understood the word "vast" until one particular hunting trip I went on years ago. We had hiked for miles in the deep woods and it was a really neat trip. When we were at our campsite someone brought out a map and showed us where we were and how far we had walked. It was at that moment was the first time I finally understood what vast meant.

On the map, we had only walked just a tiny tiny section about 1/2 inch long and the woods on the map covered the entire page.

 

[vega]

I just can't understand why they haven't found a large, white cooler, even if there's no sign of the boys.

The search plan/grid is based on numerical models which predict where an object in the gulf stream will travel to over a given length of time. This assumes the boys, their boat, and the boys holding onto the cooler are in the water drifting with the current. The boys being submerged in the water act as a surface against which the ocean current will push them along at about 5 miles per hour. So the boys are in the water holding onto the cooler as the current of water transports them with the cooler along over time.

If however the cooler is not with the boys, meaning it is drifting by itself on top of the water, not submerged in the water, then it is much more subject to surface winds and less affected by the water current and would likely be carried further east (out to sea) and away from the search grid. I say out to sea because the prevailing wind pattern during this entire time has been offshore, blowing from west to east into the ocean. Unfortunately, having not found the cooler yet may mean it is floating on top of the surface well away from the search area, and may never be found because no one is in that area searching for it.

The boat drifted north, as the numerical models predicted. But the boat has a large surface area which is entirely submerged in the current. Since it is submerged, it's motion is not influenced by the surface wind. So the model worked, for the boat. Maybe the model is not accounting for this persistent westerly wind component combined with the much smaller surface area of two skinny 14 year old boys holding onto a cooler. Maybe the wind component is playing a larger role in their drift direction and the model is not accounting for it correctly (or at all). Just because the boat drifted north does not mean the boys/cooler did as well.

 

[Hatfield]

I keep hoping for the best but my thoughts keep turning negative. What if, during the storm the cooler left the boat and the boys weren't able to get to it? The tides were too much and took it too far away to safely attempt to retrieve it. Ugh. I hate that thought.

It seems to be a popular cooler with sportsmen, and expensive ($399-$599). Knowing it's value and reputation for being an outstanding product, hours later after the storm passed, another boater could have seen it floating and picked it up and spent the rest of the day/night with it on the boat. They could have went home innocently thinking "finders keepers". Hours/days later, said finder doesn't have the guts/heart to admit he took it. Or doesn't even know the significance. I'm just speculating. And I'm very sorry my thoughts are negative. I've got three boys of my own and I want nothing less than to see those beautiful boys hugging their moms today.

The cooler measures 31 x 18 x 17 and if they were able to keep control of it during the storm, I could imagine the two of them easily hanging on to it and supporting each other through difficult moments and being resourceful and brave together. I really hope they get reunited with their friends and family today.

http://www.amazon.com/Yeti-Tundra-C...e=UTF8&qid=1438277733&sr=8-1&keywords=yeti+65

I too hope they somehow managed to get ahold of that cooler. It would be their best chance of survival because they would quickly realize they could capture rain water to drink from it.

Someone mentioned the other day that it did rain on some days.

One good downpour could give them a good supply of drinking water so I am going to try to keep optimistic although it is harder with each passing day.

I am praying the searchers find the 2 boys very soon.

So long as they somehow got drinking water they could still be alive out there.


ETA: Deleted part about a last text message because that may have been just a rumor.