Coast Guard still optimistic

The boys’ 19-foot boat was found Sunday, far to the north and 65 miles out in the Atlantic, dragged there by the Gulf Stream.

She and hundreds of other loved ones of missing teens Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen gathered at 7:30 p.m.to light candles and release lanterns near the site where the 14-year-olds were last seen. People can survive in the water.

Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor said Friday’s weather was “typical South Florida weather”, meaning it did not account for what happened. News 2’s Mayci McLeod went out on the water with the Coast Guard during a search and rescue drill to find out how they track down boaters in distress.

“It’s in their blood”, said Austin’s mother, Carly Black.

Added Stoe: “I’m praying we see these boys back on our dock”.

Not long after they went out, sometime after 1.30pm on Friday, trouble hit. They were reported missing four hours later after they didn’t return home from a fishing trip. Florida regulations say a person must be at least 14 to operate a watercraft.

In an interview on TODAY, their mothers expressed hope and said the boys had plenty of experience on the open water.

He said they’re still hopeful they can safely find Stephanos and Cohen, but every moment counts. Petty Officer Jon Paul Rios stated Wednesday that the search was complicated by water wander designs, but that teams continued to search. A family flier released Monday included this picture of the boat. “He could go as far as the rocks and inlet”.

“We’ve got to believe in their wherewithal, and we have some confidence in that area, no doubt”, he said during the conference.

NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath has even issued a plea to raise awareness about the boys’ disappearance.

“It’s a lot of water out there”, Namath said.

Man rescued after 66 days at sea is “utterly thankful and grateful”.

Keith Judy is one such survivor.

The teens’ moms defended allowing the boys to go out on the water on their own, noting they grew up in a boating community in Tequesta, Fla., and learned to swim before they could walk.

He said the group tied itself together with a rope and hung onto a floating cooler through the night. “We fought off small sharks for a little while”. One life jacket was found near the boat, though it was unclear how many life jackets had been on board. Their last contact with family was on Friday, and on Sunday morning the Coast Guard discovered their capsized vessel about 70 miles offshore from the Ponce de Leon Inlet. The search already has covered 28,000 square miles of ocean, he said.

“If you put two pretty girls in front of them and two fishing rods, they’d grab the fishing rods first”, the stepfather said. “We’re letting them know to be on the look out for these two young boys that are missing”.

“It can be very tricky, especially searching from the air”. A Yamaha engine cover and a white YETI cooler also were missing from the boat when it was found by authorities.