Search efforts end for wreckage of boat that sank with 4 onboard near Homer

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team this week stopped looking for the wreckage of a boat that sank near Homer earlier this month with four people aboard.

A family member of Mary and David Maynard and their two sons, 11-year-old Colton and 7-year-old Brantley, filed a presumptive death petition with the Homer court this week.

The family of four was on a 28-foot aluminum vessel with four other people when it began taking on water Aug. 3 roughly 16 miles west of the Homer Spit, officials from the U.S. Coast Guard have said. The boat was a recreational vessel, not a charter, said Cmdr. Mike Salerno, spokesman for the 17th Coast Guard District.

The Maynards were inside the ship when it began taking on water and the other four people were on the deck, Salerno said. There are indications that the boat may have sunk quickly, but it’s not clear what caused it to take on water and the Coast Guard did not launch an investigation, he said.

The other four people aboard made it onto a life raft and were rescued by a good Samaritan nearby, authorities said.

The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers searched an area of roughly 1,420 square miles over 31 hours before suspending the efforts, Salerno said.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team began search efforts to find the wreckage using sonar equipment, but they were hampered for several days by poor weather, the organization wrote on social media. The team searched for about 10 hours last week, but winds, waves and fast currents made it challenging for the boat to maintain course while towing the sonar equipment, they wrote.

On Wednesday, the team said it was ending active search efforts.

“It is with great sadness, we are ending the active search efforts for the Maynard Family. If something is located or possibly located in the future we will respond to assess what is located if requested by DPS,” they wrote online. “Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the survivors, their family, friends, and community.”

Mary and David Maynard were from Troy, Texas, and raised their sons there, their relative Christi Wells has said. Colton and Brantley both played soccer and baseball, she said.

Mary Maynard, 37, worked as a traveling nurse and David Maynard, 42, stayed home with their children and had a lawn care business. The family loved to travel and spend time with family and friends, which is what they were doing while visiting Alaska, Wells said.

On Friday, Wells said the family wants to thank the community and everyone involved in the search efforts for their support and prayers, she said.