Authorities are desperately searching for a 7-year-old boy after his father and a family friend were found dead in the bay where the trio went boating near Dauphin Island in Alabama on Friday.
Authorities and his family said the young fisherman, Slezak, had not been recovered three days after he went out on his first shrimp fishing trip in Pelican Bay with his father and a friend on a 22-foot vessel.
Coast Guard rescue crews found the bodies of Michael Slezak, 40, and Sam Woolley, 69, among a debris field Saturday nine miles south of the island before suspending the search Sunday.
Now, the search for Hunter will continue only by local authorities, the grieving family and volunteers.
“I just need closure to bury his body. I didn't think my heart could break any more, but not being able to find my son's body is at least something… “Very painful.”
It is unclear what happened to the boat, but the family said the three were involved in a boat accident.
As the Sheriff's Office combed the waters, the family and volunteers walked along the beach hoping to find the child, WKRG reported Monday.
“Hunter was a nice boy,” the boy's aunt, Adrienne Miguel, told the station. “He always had a smile on his face.”
Once the Coast Guard determined it was no longer a rescue mission, the federal agency decided to end their search, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said Monday. But the police chief vowed to continue using local resources to find the little boy.
He added that the shrimp boat has not yet been recovered.
Burch said he spoke with a local shrimper who knew the other victim, Wally, and believes the boat may have capsized.
“This may be Hunter inside the cabin,” he said during a press conference.
“We understand that the mother wants her son to recover so she can give him a proper farewell,” Burch continued. “And we will provide every resource at our disposal to help make this happen.”
The military branch said that before the Coast Guard stopped the search, it searched an area of 2,042 square miles over 65 hours.
“We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and communities affected by this heartbreaking and tragic incident,” Captain Robert Tucker, Coast Guard Mobile Sector, said in a statement.
“Suspension of the active search for a missing child is an extremely difficult decision and is made only after the most comprehensive efforts have been made.”
Michael Slezak, who left behind four other children and worked as a teacher and coach at a local middle school, called his wife about 3:30 p.m. Friday to tell her the trio would be out for another hour because of all the shrimp they had. “She was attractive,” a family member wrote on a fundraising page.
“The Slezak family is grieving the loss of their husband, father, precious only son and brother,” according to the GoFundMe post. “Michael and his wife, Megan, had plans to live a long, full life on their farm.
“Now, those plans have been derailed, and Meghan is trying to pick up the pieces and make sure her daughters' needs are met now and in the future, all while grieving.”
