GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Family and friends say they are hoping for a miracle after three men disappeared during a fishing trip off the Georgia coast.
Channel 2′s sister station Action News Jax reported that Tyler Barlow, Caleb Wilkinson, and Dalton Conway went on a trip on Oct. 14 aboard the “Carol Ann” with plans to return Thursday.
When their family members and the boat’s owner hadn’t heard from them, the U.S. Coast Guard launched a search on Friday.
“It’s absolutely terrifying. We are sick to our stomachs. Lots of tears and gatherings, getting together to try to uplift each other and stay positive whenever we’re all wanting to fall apart,” Stevie Conway, Dalton’s sister and Caleb’s girlfriend told Action News Jax.
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Conway told Action News Jax that Tyler and Dalton are professional fishermen who like to go deep-sea fishing, but this was Caleb’s first trip with the pair.
“They usually like to go out about 70 to 80 miles offshore,” she said. “And then, like I said, travel up towards the North Carolina area to catch more fish up there. They did want to go fish the carrier this trip, a sunken boat.”
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The Coast Guard said the last time someone saw the group and the Carol Ann was Wednesday around 5 p.m. The boat’s communication device has been down since Oct. 14, according to Action News Jax.
Search and rescue crews spent all day Friday and Saturday looking for Tyler, Caleb and Dalton. Stevie Conway told Action News Jax that the family is holding onto a silver lining: a raft on the boat equipped with a new form of technology.
“As soon as that raft touches water, it’ll ping the Coast Guard immediately with their location, and that hasn’t happened yet. So, which means that raft has not hit the water,” she said.
Stevie Conway acknowledged the possibility that the ping may not have worked, prompting the Coast Guard to look for debris and life jackets.
“We’re just continuing to stay positive throughout all this and hoping that the Coast Guard calls us with some kind of good, positive news at some point,” she said.
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