Families of missing teens remain hopeful

Associated Press

TEQUESTA, Fla.

Two teens whose lives were intertwined with the sea remained lost in the Atlantic Tuesday, as their families and authorities tried to maintain hope against the fading odds of their survival.

The Coast Guard pressed ahead with a fifth day of searches for the boys while their families coordinated air searches of their own, insistent that Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos were competent seamen and athletic young men who still could be found alive. But the relentless hunt by sea and air turned up no clue where the 14-year-olds might have drifted from their capsized boat, and the potential for finding them alive dimmed.

“As time goes on, certainly the probability of finding someone alive does decrease, but we’re still within the time frame where it’s definitely possible to find somebody alive,” said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss, noting others have survived days or even a week at sea. “We know it can happen, and we’re hoping it happens again.”

The boys grew up on the water, constantly boated and fished, worked at a tackle shop together and immersed themselves in a life on the ocean. Perry’s family said he learned to swim before he took his first steps. And though some questioned why the boys were out boating alone, others defended their families and said such independent teen outings are commonplace among those with a passion for the water.

Clive Botha, a neighbor and friend of Perry’s family, said his own children took a boat out alone as teens and cruised local waterways, even as he forbade them from the deep ocean waters.

“We always told our kids to not go out of the inlet, but kids will be kids, you know?” he said. “I get goose bumps. In my heart; they could have been my kids.”

Perry’s stepfather, Nick Korniloff, said his stepson was supposed to remain on the Loxahatchee River and the Intracoastal Waterway during the outing with his friend, as they had numerous times before.