Rescuers hope for 'best-case scenario' for boys lost at sea

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Mustering hope for a "best-case scenario" in the face of countless unknowns, search crews braced for a seventh day and night at sea Thursday in the hunt for two teenagers missing from their capsized boat.

Friends Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, both 14, went missing July 24 off Florida's Atlantic coast.

The Coast Guard, which is leading the rescue mission, says it wouldn't continue searching if it didn't believe the boys still could be alive.

Much remains unknown, including whether the teens are wearing life jackets, might have a cooler or some other object to cling to or have drinking water or food.

Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss said its decision errs on the side of the "best-case scenario" while balancing the limits on human survival.

The Coast Guard said it had plans in place for its crews to remain out throughout Thursday overnight into today.

Officials have not yet said whether the search will continue beyond that.

The decision will be based on whether clues surface, marine and weather conditions and, most importantly, whether authorities believe the boys still could be alive.

The Coast Guard doesn't mobilize to retrieve bodies, so if their hope is totally lost, a search is suspended.

"At the end of the day, it's all based on the possibility of survival," Doss said.

The Jupiter Police Department released the 911 call placed by Perry's stepfather Nick Norniloff, who reported the boys missing at 4:23 p.m. July 24, triggering the Coast Guard's search.

In a calm voice, Korniloff said the 14-year-old boys hadn't been heard from since about 11:30 a.m. and said calls to a cellphone went unanswered.

Even as the Coast Guard's intense hunt has covered more than 40,000 square nautical miles, and other agencies have helped, the families of the boys have organized their own search and are prepared to keep it going if the teens aren't found before formal efforts end.

The family said about 20 private pilots were flying out of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday, in addition to numerous boaters, all attempting to cover areas not already in the Coast Guard's search zone.