Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen Disappearance (2015)
CASE FILE: Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen Disappearance (2015)
[edit | edit source]Case Identification
[edit | edit source]| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Missing persons | Austin Stephanos (age 14) and Perry Cohen (age 14) |
| Date of disappearance | Late July 2015 (July 24) |
| Vessel | 19-foot open fishing boat |
| Departure point | Jupiter, Florida |
| Planned activity | Fishing trip |
| Search area | 15,000+ square nautical miles |
| Search assets deployed | U.S. Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife, private searchers |
| Duration of initial search | Multiple days |
| Vessel found | One year later, off the coast of Bermuda |
| Persons found | Neither — both boys missing, presumed dead |
The Disappearance
[edit | edit source]On July 24, 2015, two fourteen-year-old boys from Jupiter, Florida — Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen — set out on a fishing trip in a 19-foot open boat. They never returned. Their families alerted authorities when the boys failed to return, triggering one of the largest Coast Guard search operations in Florida history, covering more than 15,000 square nautical miles.
Despite the massive search, no trace of the boys was found. The boat itself was not located during the initial search.
The Boat Found
[edit | edit source]Approximately one year later, in 2016, the boys' boat was found drifting near the Bermuda coast — roughly 100 miles offshore. The boat was capsized and damaged, consistent with having been overwhelmed by waves, but structurally largely intact. No trace of either boy was found with the vessel.
Significance
[edit | edit source]The case is notable as one of the most recent disappearances associated with the Bermuda Triangle region. The boat's recovery near Bermuda — consistent with the Gulf Stream carrying a capsized vessel north and east from the Florida coast — provides a partial explanation for the vessel's fate, though the absence of any trace of the two young men has not been resolved.
Perry Cohen's Connection
[edit | edit source]Perry Cohen's father, Blu Cohen, became a prominent advocate for improved maritime safety following his son's disappearance and publicly criticized the circumstances of the boys' boating trip. The case drew significant national media attention and prompted renewed discussion of juvenile boating safety regulations in Florida.
