Life jackets found in Georgia during search for missing teen boaters

The families of Stephanos and Cohen created their own GoFundMe page, calling it the Perry and Austin Rescue Fund. As of Thursday, it had raised almost $480,000.

The search for Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos continues. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the jackets belong to the two teens who disappeared off the coast of Florida in July.

And then there are volunteers who have discontinued efforts, citing a difficulty with how the search is organized or disagreeing with how it’s being carried out.

Heli Aviation is pulling out of the search even though their pilots found a couple of life vests that were being inspected for any possible link to the boys. “It stuck out from the other debris that was around because it was newer and it didn’t look like it had as much fade as anything else”, Heli Aviation’s Rachel Trimpe told WFLA.

A team from Heli Aviation, a Sarasota, Fla.-based flight school, found the two life vests in the Wasssaw Sound while the tide was low. After going missing, the boys’ boat was found July 26 but the pair hasn’t been seen since. The coast guard has stated securing the boat after its discovery was not the priority; the search for the teens was.

The Coast Guard called off their search after looking for the boys for a week.

The Coast Guard does not normally tow boats to shore.

Holden said the teens’ disappearance hits home for her, because she takes her kids to Jupiter Inlet.

Search dogs have been sent to Georgia to sniff the life vests for any scent of the boys. A team from New England K9 Search and Rescue will further search the area for clues.

The cushion and life jackets resemble those lost from Cohen’s 19-foot boat that was found capsized just days after the 14-year-olds went missing off the Florida coast, a representative for the families said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up and almost $500,000 have been raised to help provide aircraft and boat fuel for the private search.