The Coast Guard plans to continue the search for the missing teens after finding their capsized boat Sunday.
Crews will use a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and Station Canaveral 45-foot Response Boat to continue the search through the night, officials report.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil at Jupiter Christian School for the two teens still missing at sea. Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos were last seen Friday in the Jupiter area as they left for a fishing trip.
The Coast Guard has told the Palm Beach Post the capsized boat was initially spotted by a C-130 aircraft at 11 a.m.
The Coast Guard said the C-130 spotted the overturned vessel at the edge of the search pattern. A helicopter from Air Station Clearwater was dispatched and lowered a rescue swimmer, who was able to confirm the registration numbers of the boat, said Petty Officer Mark Barney.
The Coast Guard searched some 25,000 square miles since Friday afternoon before finding the vessel very far off shore and up the coast, he said. It was unknown in early evening if the boat suffered any structural damage.
Tequesta police have released more details about the condition of the capsized boat now confirmed to have belonged to the mssing teens.
Tequesta police say the Coast Guard reported the “engine cover was found to be missing along with one Personal Floatation Device (PFD) still on the boat.” The Coast Guard and other agencies “assisting have searched over 15,000 square nautical miles of ocean so far with more to be searched today.”
The vessel was located about 67 miles off Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County.
The Associated Press quoted Coast Guard officials saying the 19-foot boat would be anchored in place, and that search-and-rescue efforts would continue. However, given the confirmation of the boat’s location, the Coast Guard told the AP it would recalculate its search plans.
Earlier in the day, neighbor and former NFL star Joe Namath joined families of the missing teens in a news conference to announce that the reward for finding the boys has been increased to $100,000.
The news conference was held at a home in Tequesta and started around 11 a.m., according to Pamela Cohen, mother of Perry Cohen. The family announced a $60,000 award Saturday night, but has since collected more money for the effort.
Namath and family thanked the Coast Guard and the public for help in searching for the teens.
Family members added that only qualified boaters and trained professionals should be involved in the search.
Coast Guard officials are urging people offering to assist in the search for the missing teens to let the trained crews handle the situation.
Several concerned people have called the local Coast Guard division offering to use their private vessels and planes to help search for the boys, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney.
“As much as we appreciate their concern and willingness to look for Austin and Perry, search and rescue can be a risky business,” he said. “They’re putting themselves in harm’s way by being out there.”
The volume of vessels and air crafts already searching the area is high, Barney said. It could be dangerous to have several untrained volunteers in the same water and air space, he added.
Two additional aircraft from U.S. Customs and Border Protection are assisted the Coast Guard in the search Sunday morning, officials report. Crews have searched about 14,447 miles since Friday at 5 p.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney said. Crews from Miami have contributed helicopters, boats and manpower in the search.
Stephanos and Cohen, both 14, were headed in the direction of the Bahamas in a 19-foot vessel for a fishing trip when they were reported missing.
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