Members of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation were back on the waters off Tofino Friday, refusing to give up on the search for the three fishermen missing since their boat capsized June 15.
“I just wanted to take what I know and use it in hopes of bringing the brothers home and bringing closure to not only myself but the family as well,” said Gene Antoine, a volunteer diver who knows all three missing men.
The community has renewed hope that the bodies of Marcel Martin, Carl Michael Jr. and Terrance Brown Jr. will be found since a kayaker discovered human remains on Wednesday. A wallet and a pair of pants were also found.
The B.C. Coroners Service has not yet identified the remains, so the community continues to wait for information.
“When that kayaker found human remains, it just opened things up again and brought us some hope that we could bring them home,” said Antoine, whose sister Ivy is married to Martin.
Antoine spent at least four hours diving on Friday.
He didn’t find anything, but said he won’t give up until all three men are brought home to their families.
Five people were in the boat when it capsized near Duffin Cove about 2:30 a.m. on June 15. One man was able to swim to shore and another was rescued by a Canadian Coast Guard vessel.
Antoine grew up with Martin and Michael, who are brothers.
Martin, an experienced fisherman, taught Antoine how to pick goose barnacles and how to fish for halibut using a long line.
“We had a lot of laughs together,” Antoine said of his brother-in-law, a father of three.
“He was very energetic, just a real go-getter. Marcel, he provided for his family through the water.”
Brown and Michael each had one child.
A fundraising page for the men’s children has raised nearly $40,000.
“Their children are not only missing the love and guidance of their dads, but their main providers as well,” reads the page, at gofundme.com/ providing-for-the-children.
