(DailyAnswer.org) – A Texas family may have perished in a boating accident while vacationing in Alaska over the weekend and a community is coming together to raise money in hopes of finding them.
On Saturday, Aug. 3, several family members went missing off the Alaska coast, about 16 miles away from Homer. In a statement, the US Coast Guard (USCG) said the accident happened while eight people were aboard the boat, which was made of aluminum and measured about 28 feet, when the vessel capsized.
Four of the eight were recovered while a family of four from Troy, Texas, remain missing. David Maynard, Mary Maynard, and their two sons were lost in the waves after the boat flipped over and are feared dead.
A USCG team from District 17 Alaska were deployed for a search and rescue mission. After 24 hours and a complete grid search of the area surrounding where the incident took place, the team found no signs of the family and called off the search.
In a press release, a USCG spokesperson said the decision to suspend searches isn’t an easy one, and involves the “careful consideration of many factors.” Those factors include environmental conditions that put more people at risk.
The Alaska State Troopers helped the USCG conduct the search, as well as “multiple good Samaritan vessel crews” who participated. According to Matt Clarke, the Homer Harbormaster, one of these vessel crews used their boat, the “Salty Sea,” to rescue the other four passengers of the capsized boat. They were found clinging to a life raft.
A friend of the missing family of four started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the couple’s parents, who “are still hoping” to bring their children and grandchildren home. The statement said the families were “going through a lot” and asked for “prayers and donations” to help them through it and to cover the “unexpected expenses” of the situation.
The statement said the Maynard family “left a huge imprint on many” and that their disappearance left an “indescribable” void and called on others to come together as a community to help. Within a few days, the fundraising surpassed its $10,000 goal as donations quickly poured in. As of this writing, the GoFundMe nears $20,000.
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