Search turns to recovery effort in case of two missing boaters, Mississippi police say
Recovery efforts are underway after a two-week search for two boaters who went missing on the Mississippi River, local authorities said.
Zeb Hughes, 21, and Gunner Palmer, 16, disappeared while scouting duck hunting spots Dec. 3 near Palmira Island, McClatchy News reported. They were reported missing when they failed to return from their trip.
Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said several boats were back on the water Friday morning as the search for the young men continued. The department’s boat patrol unit and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are assisting in the effort.
Two cadaver dogs will also be brought in from Louisiana to aid in the search, according to WLBT.
Pace said that while the chance for survival is slim, authorities have no intention of suspending their search at this time.
“Our mission is to bring these young men home to their families, and we’re going to do everything humanly possible to accomplish that mission,” Pace told McClatchy News.
Authorities found a capsized boat on the water earlier this month, and said they’ve recovered numerous items that have been positively identified by relatives as belonging to one or both of the missing boaters.
Pace said crews will focus their efforts on the lower Mississippi River stretching just north of the LeTourneau Boat Ramp near Vicksburg, where Hughes and Palmer put their boat into the river, to Natchez.