Miami

Jupiter Boat Parade Honors Missing Teens at Sea

A boat parade sailed along the coast of Jupiter, Florida, Monday evening in a show of support for two teenagers missing from the town since they took a boat to sea more than a week ago.

The gathering of hundreds, all holding onto hope that search-and-rescue teams find Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both 14, who have now been missing for more than ten days.

"We're hoping and we're praying. It's a pretty small town and so I guess we're just hoping and praying for a miracle," said Heather Popi, who attended the parade.

The parading boats pushed through the water where the teens were last seen, as people holding candles lined the shore. Coast Guard teams scoured almost 50,000 square nautical miles off the Florida coast, finding their capsized boat but no sign of the boys.

Orlando Paz has been following the developments, from the private searches that took over for the Coast Guard, stretching from Florida to the Carolinas, to how this community copes.

"Even though I'm from Miami, I come here a lot. People here in this town– you feel so together and you feel the pain," Paz said.

Total strangers have been united by sorrow and faith, and families like Heather Wood's held each other tight, hoping they'll never be forced to let go.

"I live in Jupiter and I want to support our town and having two young kids, try to get them to understand what could happen, you know, if they were missing," Wood said.

The rescue fund Kickstarter for Perry and Austin stood at over $450,000 Monday night, about 80 percent of the families' goal. The fund pays for resources that keep planes and boats searching the sea for the boys.

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