At least two people are dead and many more are still missing after two boats crashed this week off the coast of central California.
Monday at 7:10 a.m. PT, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said that a second boat had flipped over near Bodega Bay while they were looking for another group of people who went missing over the weekend.
On board were two guys. They were near Mussel Point, which is just south of Salmon Creek. About thirty minutes later, first responders found one of the guys and tried to save his life, but he did not make it. His name has not been given yet.
They said that their marine unit had been in the area and was looking for people who went missing over the weekend. The Coast Guard, the Sonoma County Fire District, the Goldridge Fire District, and California State Parks all joined them.
Police were called to a different part of the Bay at 10:18 p.m. on Saturday about a leisure boat that was late because it had gone crabbing off the coast of Bodega.
The white 21-foot-long Bayliner boat was said to have six people on it: three adults and three children. It had been about two hours since they had been seen or heard from. The last cell phone ping showed that the boat was near Carmet Beach, around three p.m.
Authorities finally found an 11-year-old boy living after a huge search. He is now getting medical care. The 17-year-old from Corning named Johnny Phommathep II was declared dead at the scene. According to the Corning Observer, Johnny was the son of Tiffany Phommathep.
Tiffany had been shot by a mass shooter while driving her boys to school in Rancho Tehama. As reported by SFGate, the shooting hurt the children.
After looking at more than 2,100 square miles, the Coast Guard stopped looking for the four other boats.
Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Michael L. Zapawa said in a statement, “The choice to stop a search is always hard to make and is never taken lightly.” “During this very sad time, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the missing boaters.”
More than $18,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend.
A loving wife and mother named Tiffany lost her husband and two kids in a terrible boating accident on November 2 in Bodega Bay. The school secretary at Rancho Tehama Elementary, Sara Lobdell, wrote, “I am raising money to help families bury their loved ones.”
“I’m also trying to get money to help Tiffany take care of her new baby and her children who are still alive.” The family and her husband, a veteran of the military and a volunteer firefighter with Co. 72, lived through the 2017 Rancho Tehama School Shooting.
We’re very sorry for his family’s loss, the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
The police asked anyone with important knowledge about the missing boaters to get in touch with them.
“Right now the ocean is dangerous because there are big waves and strong winds in the afternoon and evening.” “We tell everyone to be careful and know what the weather is expected to be like,” they said.
The boat crashes happened while the coast of California was being hit by very strong winds. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service put out a Red Flag Warning for parts of southern California from Tuesday to Friday because of a “particularly dangerous situation.”
Reference: At least two dead and five missing in tragic boating accidents off California coast