The U.S> Coast Guard continues to search for two missing teenage boys approximately 100 nautical miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.
Still missing are Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14 years old.
Coast Guard search crews have conducted 53 search patterns covering approximately 40,000 square nautical miles. The search area stretches from Daytona, Florida to Charleston.
Coast Guard assets involved in Wednesday’s search include:
• Coast Guard Cutter William Flores
• Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin
• Coast Guard Cutter Maria Bray
• Coast Guard Cutter Diamondback
• HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
• HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida.
Other agencies involved in the search include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
At approximately 5 p.m. on Friday, 24th of July, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Miami command center received the report that Austin and Perry were aboard a 19-foot white single engine center console vessel and were last seen in the Jupiter area at approximately 1:30 p.m., after purchasing $110 worth of fuel.
On July 26th at 11 a.m., a Coast Guard C-130 located a capsized vessel 67 nautical miles east of Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida. A Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew was dispatched, lowered a rescue swimmer to the boat, and confirmed the vessel’s registration.
Image: US Coast Guard