Dec. 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard has “indefinitely suspended” its search for a 7-year-old boy who went missing in the Gulf of Mexico late last week on a boating trip with his father and a family friend.
On Sunday evening, the Coast Guard said it was ending its search for Hunter Slezak after scouring air and sea for more than 65 hours to cover 2,042 square miles in an area “approximately the size of the state of Delaware,” officials said.
According to a Coast Guard spokesperson, the suspension was due to the expending of all available resources in search for Hunter unless new information arises that will help, AL.com reported.
His father, Michael Slezak, 40, and Sam Wooley, 69, were found dead Saturday afternoon after their vessel the “Marty Ann” departed Friday from the Billy Goat Hole Boat Ramp on Alabama’s Dauphin Island and was last heard from that afternoon.
An investigation is pending to determine what caused the incident but Coast Guard officials did not speculate.
“Saturday afternoon, a Coast Guard Station Dauphin Island boat crew found a debris field approximately 9 miles south of Dauphin Island,” according to a USCG report.
On Sunday, Hunter’s mother Megan Slezak in a Facebook post pleaded for help from anyone with a plane or boat willing to help look for her missing son prior to the search ending.
A Mobile County Sheriff’s Office flotilla launched Monday morning before 10 a.m. local time out of Bayou La Batre.
“Coast Guard is searching the rest of today until nightfall for my precious Hunter,” Megan Slezak said on social media. “After that they are ending their search parties.”
“I just need the closure of having his body to bury,” the grieved wrote. “I didn’t think my heart could shatter anymore then this but not at least being able to find my son’s body is so incredibly painful. Momma hold your babies. They could be taken in a blink of an eye. This is THE WORST pain ever,” she added.
Michael Slezak was a coach at Semmes Middle School in Semmes, Ala. where he was the 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year. He taught 7th-grade math from 2017 until last year.
The father and teacher “inspired our students to be better scholars, better athletes, and better individuals,” read part of a statement by school officials. “Through every lesson taught, every practice led, and every word of encouragement, he made an impact on our community.”
An official GoFundme page has been setup for the family of Michael Slezak