Authorities are desperately searching for a 7-year-old boy after his father and a family friend were found dead in a bay near Dauphin Island, Alabama, on Friday.
Little Hunter Slezak still hasn't been recovered three days after he went on his first shrimping trip in Pelican Bay in a 22-foot boat with his father and a friend, authorities and family said.
Coast Guard rescue teams found the bodies of Michael Slezak, 40, and Sam Woolley, 69, in the rubble about nine miles south of the island on Saturday, and called off the search Sunday.
For now, the search for Hunter continues solely through local authorities, grieving family members and volunteers.
“I just need closure, to bury his body. I never thought my heart would be broken any more, but it's incredibly painful not to at least find my son's body.” Megan Slezak, Michael's widow and the boy's mother, said in a Facebook post Sunday.
It is unclear what happened to the boat, but family members said three people were involved in a boating accident.
Family members and volunteers walked along the shoreline trying to find the young man while the sheriff's office searched the water. WKRG reported on Monday.
“Hunter was a very sweet kid,” Adrian Migil, the boy's aunt, told the station. “He always had a smile on his face.”
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said Monday that the federal agency decided to end the search after the Coast Guard determined it was no longer on a rescue mission. But top cops vowed to continue using local resources to find the boy.
The shrimp boat has also not yet been recovered.
Birch said he spoke to a local shrimp fisherman who knew the other victim, Woolley, and believed the boat may have capsized.
“And that hunter might be in the shed,” he said. During a press conference.
“We understand that the mother wants her son to recover and to give him a proper farewell,” Birch continued. “We will use every resource to achieve that.”
The Coast Guard spent 65 hours searching 2,042 square miles before calling off the search, the military department said.
“We are deeply saddened and extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and community affected by this heartbreaking and tragic incident,” said Col. Robert Tucker, Coast Guard Sector Mobile. said in a statement.
“Ceasing an active search for a missing child is a very difficult decision and one that can only be made after the best efforts have been made.”
Michael Slezak, who leaves behind four other children and works as a teacher and coach at a local middle school, called his wife around 3:30 p.m. on Friday to tell her that there was a large shrimp outbreak. told him he would be out for another hour. a family member wrote on the fundraising page.
According to the GoFundMe post, “The Slezak family is grieving the loss of a husband, father, and precious son and brother.” “Michael and his wife Megan had plans for a long and fulfilling life on the farm.
“Those plans have now fallen through the cracks, and Megan is grieving as she works to pick up the pieces and ensure her daughters' needs are met now and in the future.”
