The remains of a Texas family of four that went missing nearly 10 months ago have been found in the waters off southern Alaska.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety announced Thursday that some of the remains of the Maynard family — David, 42; Mary, 37; Colton, 11; and Brantley, 8 — had been recovered after their boat capsized on Aug. 3 last year.
The family had been traveling with four other people on a 28-foot aluminum boat when it began to take on water in Kachemak Bay, about 16 miles off the shore of Homer. Another boat was able to rescue the four others from a life raft.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search for the Troy, Texas family using sonar equipment but was unsuccessful in locating the Maynards. The search was suspended after roughly 24 hours.
A new search conducted by the Alaska Wildlife Troopers got underway in April with the assistance of tools and technology from several private organizations. Earlier this month, they located a vessel about 180 feet under water and used a remote vehicle to positively identify it as the missing boat.
Dive operations were then conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, with divers recovering three sets of remains from the sunken vessel.
The remains were transported to the state medical examiner’s office to perform autopsies and confirm their identifies.
The Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Alaska Dive Search, Rescue and Recovery Team said they would continue searching the bay for additional remains.
Mary Maynard worked as a traveling nurse, while David had a lawn care business and stayed home with their sons, a spokesperson for the family told the Anchorage Daily News.
A GoFundMe set up for their loved ones following their disappearance had raised over $21,000.
