Two California teenagers are missing since they went duck hunting early Saturday morning at Thermalito Afterbay in Butte County.
Butte County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and other first responders started searching the area after they received a report one of the boys was in a kayak that overturned, Butte County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Megan McMann said.
The other boy vanished after he swam out to help him, McMann said.
On the water waiting for the cadavers dogs to finish their job so I can dive for the boys. @diverjuanheredia
Posted by Juan Heredia on Monday, December 16, 2024
The two boys are Andruw Cornett, age 19, and his brother, Wesley Cornett, age 17, said April Clark, who posted on Facebook she’s the boys’ mother.
As of Monday, the teens were still missing, McMann said, although the sheriff’s office and other agencies are still searching the area around Thermalito Afterbay as well as the water. The area is about 70 miles north of Sacramento.
Rescuers and volunteer divers search for two teenage duck hunters at Thermalito Afterbay in Butte County. The brothers have been missing since one overturned his kayak and the other swam out to help on Saturday morning, Dec. 14, 2024.
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According to Clark, whose Facebook account says she lives in Olivehurst in Yuba County, Wesley Cornett kayaked out onto the water to retrieve a duck. The water was too deep, and the duck fell too far from shore for the family’s 8-month-old Labrador retriever puppy to fetch it, Clark posted on social media.
When Wesley Cornett’s kayak capsized, his brother Andruw Cornett called 911. The 911 operator said it would take time for a unit to get to the wilderness location, so the 19-year-old swam out to help his brother. “He’s a hero in my eyes,” Clark posted on Facebook.
Divers continued searching for signs of the brothers in the Thermalito Afterbay waters, said Juan Heredia of Stockton, founder of Angels Recovery Dive Team and a volunteer diver helping with the search on Monday morning.
The boys’ family still harbors hopes they’ll be found alive.
“Please pray for my family … I’m just a mom begging my boys are found safe,” Clark said in a Facebook post accompanied by photos of the two teens.
Other agencies helping with the search are marine units from the Placer and Yuba counties sheriffs’ offices, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and search and rescue teams from Placer, Nevada and Yuba counties.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Teen brothers missing after California duck hunting trip
