The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a 7-year-old boater who disappeared under mysterious circumstances off the coast of Alabama. However, his family has pledged to continue the search.
According to a news release issued on December 1, USCG crews searched over 2,042 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico but were unable to locate Hunter Slezak.
According to officials, the Marty Ann was reduced to debris on Friday, November 29, while Hunter was aboard with two adults. Recovery of the bodies of the two individuals has been complete. “The vessel was last heard from on Friday afternoon and was reported to have departed from the Billy Goat Hole Boat Ramp on Dauphin Island,” according to the USCG.
“A debris field was discovered by a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Dauphin Island on Saturday afternoon, approximately nine miles south of Dauphin Island. The boat crew conducted a search of the vicinity and discovered the bodies of Michael Slezak, 40, and Sam Wooley, 69.
The search was concluded at dusk on Sunday, December 1, according to officials, after aircraft and vessels had surveyed an area that was “approximately the size of the state of Delaware.”
The USCG has not yet provided any suggestions regarding the cause of the Marty Ann’s disintegration during a family excursion.
Capt. Robert Tucker of Coast Guard Sector Mobile stated in the release that the decision to suspend an active search for a missing child is exceedingly challenging and is only made after the most thorough efforts have been made. According to Meg Slezak, who identified herself as Hunter’s mother, a civilian search party was established on Sunday to continue the search for Hunter. Her spouse was Michael Slezak.
Michael Slezak, who taught seventh-grade math from 2017 to 2023, was named Teacher of the Year at Scarborough Model Middle School in Mobile, Alabama, for the 2020-21 academic year.
