An entire family, including two young children, is lost at sea after the boat they were travelling on capsized and sank off the coast of Alaska in icy waters.
Mary and David Maynard, along with their two sons, Colton, 11, and Brantley, 7, were in a 28-foot aluminum boat with four other people Saturday when it began taking on water around 7 p.m., according to Travis Magee, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard.
He radioed for help and the Salty Sea boat responded and was able to rescue four others from a life raft. The Anchorage Daily News reports.
Since then, the Coast Guard has been searching for the Texas family in the waters off the coast of Homer, using a helicopter, an airplane, a Coast Guard cutter and two other vessels, along with assistance from Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Good Samaritan steamboat.
But the family remains missing after search efforts were called off around 6pm on Sunday.
Mary and David Maynard, along with their two sons, Colton, 11, and Brantley, seven, are lost at sea.
A family friend broke the news on Facebook, asking for prayers for the family.
“I ask for prayers from everyone possible,” Stetson Chase wrote on Sunday.
‘While we weren’t the best of friends, only knowing each other through sports and our children, I think I can attest to the fact that many were a wonderful, caring, loving family who deserve to be home.’
Mary and David are both from Troy, Texas, and raised their children there, Christi Wells told the Anchorage Daily News.
She noted that Colton and Brantley played football and baseball, and said Mary, 37, worked as a traveling nurse while David, 42, stayed home with his children and ran a lawn care business.