One week after two South Florida teenagers disappeared at sea after leaving on a fishing trip, the Coast Guard said it is calling off its massive search.
The Coast Guard, along with other agencies and volunteers, combed nearly 50,000 square miles of ocean in 56 different searches in what amounted to 30 days' worth of searching in just a week's time.
The missing 14-year-old boys, Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, were last seen July 24 fueling up their small, 19-foot boat in Jupiter. Coast Guard officials found the boat capsized Sunday about 67 miles off the coast of Ponce Inlet, in Volusia County.
The Coast Guard said the search area extended from Jupiter all the way up to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and 270 miles out from Savannah, Georgia. They took all things into consideration during the search, based on the boys' experience on the water and their will to live.
But after seven days with no sign of the teens, the Coast Guard said it has reached its limit in this search.
Coast Guard Capt. Mark Fedor said even though the search is being suspended Friday evening, the case can be reopened anytime in the future if new information about the boys' whereabouts is discovered.
The boys' families have vowed to continue their own search efforts privately, even if the Coast Guard halts theirs.
Previous stories: Search for missing teen boaters
- Thursday, July 30: Missing teens search, Day 7: Hope for miracle dims, but search goes on
- Wednesday, July 29: Missing teens search, Day 6: More debris found, vigils held
- Tuesday, July 28: Floating object found near missing teens' boat
- Sunday, July 26 and Monday, July 27: Missing teens' boat found off Ponce Inlet coast
RELATED: Florida boating regulations explained — age limit to pilot a personal watercraft is 14