Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TEQUESTA, Fla. (AP) — The latest on the search for the two Florida teens who went missing while on a fishing trip off Florida's Atlantic coast:
1:05 p.m.
Coast Guard and state officials have left the Florida home of one of two missing teenage boaters, with a spokesman saying the search for them is still "active and open."
Capt. Mark Fedor of the Coast Guard said Wednesday: "There's been a lot of rumors that the search has been suspended. I just want to refute that. The search has not been suspended."
The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers were at the home of 14-year-old Perry Cohen for almost an hour Wednesday afternoon.
As they left, Fedor offered no further comment and didn't take questions.
It was unclear whether the family would make a statement.
Also missing is 14-year-old Austin Stephanos. Wednesday marked the sixth day of the search as crews expanded the search area north into South Carolina.
Their capsized boat was found Sunday.
___
11:45 a.m.
A Coast Guard spokesman says the search for two teen boaters who went missing off the coast of Florida is ongoing.
Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss, the spokesman for the Florida Coast Guard district, said Wednesday: "There is no plan to suspend the search today."
Earlier, a U.S. official said the Coast Guard was suspending the search. But Doss says any reports of the search ending are inaccurate.
Doss says aircraft and boats are searching. Crews have been searching for 14-year-olds Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos for six days.
At noon Wednesday, three vehicles pulled into the driveway of Cohen's home, and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Tequesta Police got out and met with the family.
The teen's capsized boat was found Sunday, and the Coast Guard says it's searching the waters from Daytona Beach, Florida, north to South Carolina.
The boys are described as consummate seamen who grew up on the water and spent much of their free time boating and fishing.
-- Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell contributed from Washington.
___
7:40 a.m.
The search continued Wednesday for two Florida teens who have been missing in the Atlantic Ocean since leaving Friday afternoon on a fishing trip.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Anthony Soto says the search area for Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, both 14, now stretches from Florida's east coast to Charleston, South Carolina.
As dawn broke Wednesday, Soto says a C-130 aircraft planned a "first-light" search near Tybee Island, Georgia, where callers reported seeing something floating in the water Tuesday evening. Crews combed the area Tuesday night, but didn't find anything connected to the search for the missing boys.
Soto says the agency issued an Urgent Marine Information to notify boaters in the area to contact the Coast Guard if they spot anything.
He says the agency will likely reevaluate the search mission, which is entering its sixth day, sometime Wednesday.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
