Authorities finally located a missing Texas family’s boat nearly a year after they disappeared in 180 feet of water off the coast of Alaska.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety announced on Wednesday that authorities located the family’s boat and potential human remains in early May.
The tragic update comes after David Maynard, 42, Mary Maynard, 37, and their sons Colton, 11, and Brantley, 8, disappeared at sea last August.
The family of four was on board a 28 foot aluminum vessel with four others when it began taking in water.
The four other individuals were rescued from a life raft, but the family was on board the ship when it capsized and sank in the freezing Alaskan waters.
A massive search ensued, led by the Coast Guard and Alaska Wildlife Troopers. Authorities used helicopters and sonar equipment to find the family, but the search was suspended the following evening.
An update came in April when Support Vessels of Alaska, Vision Subsea, and Benthic Geoscience contacted the Alaska Wildlife Troopers with additional resources to assist in the search, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
‘In early May, the group was able to locate the vessel in 180 feet of water and utilizing a remotely operated vehicle, they were able to positively identify it as the missing boat with potential human remains onboard,’ the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.
Alaska authorities released an update in the tragic search for a Texas family of four who disappeared last summer
The family’s boat capsized off the coast of Alaska. and they were presumed dead after an exhaustive search failed to find them
Private companies joined the search in April and located the boat the family was on submerged in 180 feet of water
After the companies located the sunken ship, divers conducted operations to recover the remains on board.
There were three sets of remains found that have been transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm the identities.
The family had been presumed dead after search efforts were suspended last year.
At a presumptive death hearing in September, one of the survivors spoke and tearfully recalled the moment the boat began to sink, audio obtained by local NBC affiliate, KCEN-TV revealed.
‘They were just gone,’ one survivor recounted.
‘It had to have been, I mean it was 10 minutes, maybe 10 minutes from us having fun to the boat – the boat rolled like this, tipped on its side and then the engines went down and just the nose up,’ she added.
The captain of the boat said that the engine had sputtered, and he anchored the vessel after seeing another fishing boat nearby.
‘At one point, David asked me, got my attention, and he pointed to the back corner of the deck where there was a drain hole for water that would come up, get on deck,’ the captain said.
The boat was confirmed to be the ship the family was on, and authorities said human remains would be tested to verify the identities
The family was beloved in their Texas community, and their boys enjoyed participating in sports
‘He pointed to it and he said, “Is that normal?” and I said “no.”‘
The captain, who wasn’t identified, said that he tried to fire up the engine, but it wouldn’t start. David then tried to use the radio to call for help.
When help arrived, the four survivors had escaped, but the Maynards didn’t make it off the capsized boat.
A ship called the Salty Sea rescued the survivors, and the ship’s captain said their rescuers, ‘asked if there was anybody else, and I told him there were, but they didn’t make it out of the boat.’
The presumptive death jury then determined that the family of four died as a result of accidental drowning.
The family was from Troy, Texas, and was on vacation in Alaska when their boat tragically sank.
David shared posts of Alaska on social media before the family’s boat capsized. The family was presumed dead after a hearing in September
A GoFundMe said the family ‘left a huge imprint on many people, from the laughter they brought to us, the love and family-oriented connection they provided’
A family friend told the Anchorage Daily News at the time that their sons, Colton and Brantley, both played soccer and baseball.
Mary worked as a traveling nurse, and David had a lawn care business and stayed home with the kids.
A fundraiser was set up to support the family on GoFundMe, and donations passed the original goal.
‘The Maynard’s left a huge imprint on many people, from the laughter they brought to us, the love and family-oriented connection they provided, It is indescribable the void that will be left behind but I know if we come together as a family and a community they would know how much they meant to everyone,’ the description on the fundraiser read.
