Family of Four Missing After Capsizing off Homer

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a search for a family of four from Texas who went missing in a capsizing off Alaska last weekend.

According to the Coast Guard, a 28-foot aluminum boat with eight people aboard was operating about 16 miles off Homer on Saturday evening. At about 1900 hours, it began taking on water, and the Coast Guard put out a call to nearby marine traffic for assistance. A good Samaritan vessel was the first responder on scene, and the crew pulled four survivors from a life raft. They were unharmed and were delivered safely to shore. Four people - identified by a relative as the four members of the Maynard family of Troy, Texas - remained missing. 

The Coast Guard carried out a search in calm weather conditions through Sunday evening, with assistance from state law enforcement and from private boaters. At 1800 hours Sunday, with odds of survival diminishing, the Coast Guard called off the SAR mission. 

"The decision to suspend a search is never easy and involves the careful consideration of many factors including environmental conditions and search operations," the agency said in a statement. "Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of the missing people during this unimaginably difficult time."

The lost passengers have been identified as Mary Maynard, 37, a traveling nurse; David Maynard, 42, a lawn care contractor; and their sons Colton, 11, and Brantley, 7. They were in Alaska on a vacation, and a relative said that they had made the long trip to attend a family member's wedding.

"The whole family, they were just sweet people. They were giving and loving people, and it’s just a horrible tragedy, a horrible tragedy," relative Christi Wells told NBC.