Boat, human remains found in Alaska believed to be Texas family who went missing in August

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4 days ago

A boat and human remains believed to belong to a Texas family who went missing from Alaskan waters nearly a year ago have been found, officials announced Wednesday.
42-year-old David Maynard of Waco, Texas was on a boat with his wife, 37-year-old Mary, as well as their children, 11-year-old Colton and 8-year-old Brantley, when they went missing on Aug. 3, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. They were boating in the Kachemak Bay near Homer, Alaska, southwest of Anchorage, DPS said.
The U.S. Coast Guard searched for the family but eventually suspended the search after nearly 24 hours, "pending the development of new information."
"The decision to suspend a search is never easy and involves the careful consideration of many factors including environmental conditions and search operations," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Shannon Kerney previously told USA TODAY. "Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of the missing people during this unimaginably difficult time."
According to DPS, the Alaska Dive, Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team tried to use sonar equipment to find the boat the family was on, but found nothing initially.
The family was on a 28-foot aluminum boat with four family members when the boat capsized around 7 p.m. 16 miles west of the Homer Spit, reported television station KCEN-TV and newspaper the Anchorage Daily News.
In October, a few months after their disappearance, an Alaska jury declared the family of four dead, reported the Anchorage Daily News.
Wildlife troopers logged the family of four as missing, then in April, eight months later, more organizations offered to help with the search, including Support Vessels of Alaska, Vision Subsea, and Benthic Geoscience Inc.
In early May, the group found a boat in 180 feet of water. The team used a remotely operated vehicle to identify it as the missing boat the family was on; also on the boat were 'potential human remains,' DPS said.
On May 27 and May 28, volunteers from Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team and Alaska Wildlife Troopers took part in a diving operation and recovered three sets of remains from the sunken boat. The remains were taken to the state medical examiner's office for positive identification and autopsies.
Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team said on social media that the team is searching for additional remains.
'Identification of the remains will be released by DPS once the medical examiner completes their work,' the team wrote in the post. The post did not say how long the process may take, but did confirm that next of kin had been notified.
Mary and David Maynard's sons both played soccer and baseball, said Christi Wells, Mary Maynard's aunt, who gave the Anchorage Daily News a statement on behalf of Mary's parents last year. Mary was a traveling nurse and David was a stay-at-home dad with a lawn care business, Wells told the newspaper.
A GoFundMe was started to support the missing family's loved ones and cover unexpected expenses. As of May 29, users have donated over $21,000.
Tanashea Aviles, who started the GoFundMe, said the family was hoping to bring their loved ones home.
'This family is going through a lot right now,' Aviles wrote.
Wells spoke to NBC News about the missing family shortly after their disappearance. She explained the family had been in Alaska for her son's wedding on July 27.
"The whole family, they were just sweet people," Wells said at the time. "They were giving and loving people, and it's just a horrible tragedy, a horrible tragedy."
— USA TODAY's Saleen Martin contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Maynard family from Texas believed to be found in Alaska: Police