Perry Cohen was 14 when he left Jupiter Inlet, Florida, on July 24, 2015, for a fishing trip with his friend Austin Stephanos aboard a 19-foot Seacraft boat. Both boys were experienced with boating and fishing; they bought fuel that morning and used their phones to communicate after departure. Shortly after leaving they encountered a severe storm with high winds, and those messages were the last known communications from either boy.

The Coast Guard mounted an extensive search covering more than 50,000 square miles. Two days later the boat was sighted off Daytona Beach but could not be recovered at the time. In March 2016 a Norwegian ship found the vessel drifting near Bermuda with some belongings on board, including Austin’s damaged iPhone. No trace of Perry or Austin has been found and they are presumed lost at sea. The families later became involved in legal disputes, including a wrongful death suit filed by Perry’s mother and disagreement over examination of the recovered phone. Perry’s name lives on through the Perry J. Cohen Foundation, which supports environmental and educational causes.

If anyone knew Perry’s boating plans that day or saw the Seacraft after July 24, 2015, please share what you remember.