Teen Brothers Who Went Missing During Duck Hunting Trip Now Presumed Dead, Authorities Say

Mar. 15, 2025

Wesley Cornett, Andruw Cornett.Photo:California Missing Person Unit

Teen Brothers Who Went Missing During Duck Hunting Trip Now Presumed Dead

California Missing Person Unit

Two teen brothers who went missingduring a duck hunting trip in rural Northern Californiaearlier this month are now feared dead.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Officehas confirmedthat their initial search and rescue efforts have since transitioned to a more limited, but ongoing, search and recovery after 17-year-old Wesley Cornett and 19-year-old Andruw Cornett went missing in the Thermalito Afterbay on Dec. 14.

Sheriff’s office spokesperson Megan McCann toldSFGATEthe efforts “shifted to a continuous limited search for Andruw and Wesley Cornett on December 23, 2024. This involves surface search methods, including aircraft, drones, boats, on-shore vehicles and K9s.”

“The search that we are doing right now is a recovery,” Sgt. Brian Evans, a member of the sheriff’s marine unit, told ABC affiliate KRCR on Dec. 17.

Representatives from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Wesley Cornett, Andruw Cornett.Butte County Sheriff’s Office

Teen brothers go missing on California duck hunting trip. The Butte County Sheriff’s office is searching for missing brothers Wesley Cornett, 17, and Andruw Cornett, 19

Butte County Sheriff’s Office

Three days after the teenagers vanished when Andruw called 911 to report that his younger brother’s kayak had overturned — and said that he was also going into the water to try and help — divers found Andruw’s pants.

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The Thermalito Afterbay is described as a difficult area to search due to hypothermia threat limiting dive time as well as depths from 3 to 30 feet and vegetation up to 10 feet tall that poses a risk of entanglement to divers, SFGate reported.

“This is hard for me to write as I’m beyond broken into so many pieces," she wrote. “If you can please find it in your heart to donate and help our family find and lay my handsome two young boys to rest, any amount of support will forever be blessed for our family.”

Currently, the GoFundMe has raised approximately $41,000 out of a $45,000 goal.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office confirmed ina statementonDec. 16 that authorities initially responded to a missing persons alert on Dec. 14.

source: people.com