Heartbreaking Call Made in Search for Family Whose Boat Capsized in Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended search efforts for a family of four from Troy, TX, whose boat capsized near Homer, AK, on August 3.
A "beloved" couple and their two sons are presumed dead after their boat capsized in frigid Arctic waters last weekend, The Anchorage Daily News reported.
Travis Magee, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, confirmed that the service received a call at around 7 p.m. on August 3 notifying them to a distress call sent out by a 28-foot aluminum vessel which had begun to take on water. Waves were reportedly about two feet and winds less than five knots at the time the boat began to sink.
Another boat, the Salty Sea, intercepted the call and came to the scene, which is about 16 miles from Homer, AK. There, they found four of the eight passengers from the sinking vessel huddled together in a life raft. Those people were uninjured.
The Coast Guard continued to search the area for the remaining four passengers, who have been identified as Mary and David Maynard and their two sons, aged 11 and seven. Efforts were resumed on Sunday with the help of a helicopter, an airplane, and a cutter as well as two other vessels, but the search was suspended at 6 p.m.
“Any time we make a decision to suspend a search and rescue case is a very difficult one to make,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Shannon Kerney told KCEN-TV. “Cases that are suspended, they’re only suspended pending the development of new information. If anything comes to light, any new information that we get, we’re more than happy and willing to go out and continue our search. Our hearts are definitely with the families right now as they grieve.”
On Sunday night, family friend Stetson Chase posted an update to Facebook, with permission from Mary Maynard’s mother, asking followers to pray for the missing family. “I kindly ask for prayers from anyone possible,” Chase wrote. “I think I can vouch for many that they were a wonderful, caring, and loving family that deserves to be brought home. As her mother stated, prayers are all we have.”
The Maynards, a family of avid travelers who hailed from Troy, TX, were in Alaska to visit friends. Mary Maynard was employed as a traveling nurse, while David was a stay-at-home dad and owned his own lawn care business.
As of Monday, the Coast Guard could not provide additional details regarding the search or the Maynards’ vessel. The service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Men’s Journal.