On Nov. 24, 2005, Christian Hall, 15, left Corpus Christi, Texas, aboard a 74-foot sailboat named the Gypsy II. He set out with the boat’s captain, David
thartribune.com
Some excerpts from this very in-depth article:
On Nov. 24, 2005, Christian Hall, 15, left Corpus Christi, Texas, aboard a 74-foot sailboat named the Gypsy II. He set out with the boat’s captain, David “Dusty” Andrews, headed for Florida.
Christian had been working as a deckhand on the Gypsy II to make extra money, according to later accounts shared by his family and advocates. When he asked to go on the trip, his family said he could not. He went anyway.
Andrews, 39 at the time, was Christian’s employer and the person responsible for the boat. Public case summaries describe Andrews by the nickname “Captain Dusty.” After the departure, Andrews also vanished, along with the vessel.
... Christian’s aunt, Carla Boehm, has become one of the most consistent voices pushing for attention. She has told the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that she believes Christian could still be alive.
Boehm has also said Andrews told people in his own life that Christian was his son. Boehm has said that claim was false...
The Charley Project identifies him as Christian Glen Hall, born July 9, 1990, missing at age 15. The listing gives a height of 5 feet 7 inches and a weight of about 120 pounds, and notes a scar on his upper lip.
That same summary warns he “may use the last name Andrews...” The implication is straightforward: if he is alive, he may be living under a name tied to the man he left with...
People and the Charley Project add a key detail: the boat was taking on water when the distress situation unfolded...
The Charley Project describes the assistance as coming from a civilian boater... After that, Christian, Andrews, and the boat were never seen again.
A local television report in Corpus Christi has described the mayday location more precisely, placing it about 65 miles south of the Louisiana coast...
The boat itself has become part of the mystery because it also vanished. In many sea disappearances, debris or a hull eventually surfaces. In this case, NCMEC says there have been no confirmed sightings of the Gypsy II...
Boehm has described a relationship she believes mattered. In NCMEC’s account, she said Christian grew attached to Andrews while working on the boat, seeing him as a father figure. She also said she believed the attachment went both ways...
The case’s hardest fact may be its most ordinary one: Christian was 15. He was young enough that adults controlled the boat, the route, and the decisions made after the mayday was raised and help was offered.
That decision point, the refusal of assistance, sits at the center of every public summary. The accounts agree on the basic shape of it. Distress was indicated, the boat was in trouble, and the people aboard turned help away...
... NCMEC says there have been no confirmed sightings, meaning no verified port arrival, no verified radio contact after that point, and no verified recovery of the vessel.
The lack of permission for Christian to travel adds another layer that has never been fully explained in public. People reports authorities said Andrews did not have permission to take him, but the public record does not spell out the arrangement that allowed Christian to work on the boat.
