Today will mark 48 hours since cousins Alex Peric, 18, and Anthony Leota, 17, disappeared while on a church picnic and baptismal at Utumea Beach.
Family members are still holding onto hope that a miracle will happen and they will be found alive.
From information gathered at Utumea Beach Saturday evening and yesterday, one of the boys signaled that he was having difficulty swimming back to shore, and the other one went into help.
Witneses told KHJ News that the two boys were in the water for about 4 hours and they could see their heads from the shoreline, before they disappeared.
EMS and police were called and during that whole time while they awaited the arrival of the responders no one was able to render any help to the two young men.
After the boys could no longer be seen, a woman from Utumea is reported to have paddled out in a raft to try and look for the two boys. But the water was murky and there was no trace of the pair.
Family memebrs said it was between 1 and 2 pm that the boys went missing.
The first vessel to arrive and began searching was the US Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak. The Coast Guard was contacted by Mrs Jonitta Fruean who was at the beach with her family that afternoon.
She later learned that the two boys were her nephews.
The DPS Marine Patrol vessel coming all the way from Fagatogo in rough seas, arrived late in the afternoon and joined the search.
Other fishing boats in the area also helped. But murky conditions and rough seas made it difficult.
The Coast Guard cutter remained at the scene Saturday night and continued the search. But nothing was found.
Yesterday morning at daylight the search continued, with a DMWR vessel joining, and for the first time divers from DPS, DMWR and three volunteer divers, Fereti Lemoni, Mamanu Seti and Amataga Mose Mulipola, went underwater to look for the missing young men.
The volunteer divers, who have helped in other search operations were asking if the boys were wearing t-shirts. They said its likely that their shirts got stuck in coral and kept them underwater.
April Peric Saifoiloi, an older sister of Alex Peric, a 2019 Tafuna High School graduate, had stayed at the beach Saturday night.
She said, “I hope they can find them.”
Her brother was planning to attend ASCC for two years before going off island.
He was a standout football player.
April, a continuing ASCC student, said they were going to register together today.
Alex is the second youngest of eight children of Taofegauia’i Leota Peric and Yanko Peric.
Anthony Leota is an incoming senior at Samoana High School. Family members said Anthony lost his mother in the 2009 tsunami and his father is hospitalized. Anthony was staying with April and her family.
It was evident from the many young people who showed up at the beach when KHJ News was there Saturday that the boys were loved.
The youth group that the two boys belonged to were holding hands, singing and praying. There were other prayer circles for the two missing cousins yesterday.
DPS set up a command post at the guest house of High Chief and Judge Paepae Joe Faiai and the DPS Commissioner, deputy commissioner, Homeland Security and EMS personnel slept there for two nights.
Commissioner Lei Sonny Thompson spoke to KHJ News at Utumea yesterday.
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Coast Guard Lt. Ryan Junod said the Cutter Joseph Gerzcak will end its part in the search operations today as it’s returning to Honolulu but he is looking at the possibility of having another Coast Guard cutter, Walnut, currently in Apia, provide assistance.
