MIAMI, July 26 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing its search for two teenage boys who have been missing for two days off the coast of southern Florida.
Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14, told relatives they were going on a fishing trip Friday off the shores of Miami. When they did not return, concerned family members called authorities.
The Coast Guard has been looking for the boys with a search plane, a helicopter and multiple vessels for two days, but have so far come up empty. No sign of the boys, or their white, 19-foot single engine boat has yet been found.
The boys were last seen about 1:30 p.m. EDT Friday at a filling station near Jupiter — a suburb north of Miami — where they purchased more than $100 worth of fuel, the Coast Guard said.
In addition to a HC-144 “Ocean Sentry” airplane and an MH-65 “Dolphin” helicopter, both from Air Station Miami, three Coast Guard cutters are also participating in the search.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office is also assisting in the search, officials said.
The Coast Guard said it would search throughout Sunday for the boys. So far, rescue crews have covered nearly 15,000 square nautical miles.
The Coast Guard said a social media post by one of the boys indicated they may have been headed toward the Bahamas.
Former NFL quarterback Joe Namath, who is Cohen’s neighbor and personally knows both boys, held a news conference with relatives on Sunday and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the teens’ return.
“We will keep on looking until we find them,” the Hall of Fame New York Jets quarterback said. “We are all praying … The good Lord has got to help us out.”
“We think, clearly, that people want two boys rescued without money … [but] there is a little extra incentive beyond the norm,” Cohen’s stepfather, Nick Korniloff, said. “We will do anything to get our children back.”
Authorities are also asking for help from the public, encouraging witnesses to contact the Coast Guard.
“I just want them home,” Stephanos’ mother, Carly Black, said.
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