Boys who survived the shooting were believed to have died in a boating accident in California

On By Pranco

A Northern California family who… Mass shooting in 2017 is now dealing with a fatal boat accident in the small coastal town Bodega Bay.

Six boaters – three adults and three children – who went crabbing off the coast of Bodega Bay aboard a 20-foot white Bayliner boat were reported missing on November 2 around 10:20 p.m. failed to return to shore in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, the county sheriff confirmed.

Among the boaters was 17-year-old Johnny Phommathep II, whose body washed up on shore the next day. His younger brother Jake, 14, and their father Johnny, 41, are believed to be lost at sea.

The family is from Tehama County, about 200 miles north of Sonoma.

Tiffany Phommathep II, the boys’ mother, said her strength amid the tragedy comes from her husband, whom she called an “amazing, amazing father,” according to the local station. KTVU TV. Johnny Phommathep Sr. served in Iraq through the U.S. Air Force and works as a volunteer firefighter.

She explained that the situation is beyond painful as her sons previously survived gunshot wounds seven years ago during a mass shooting in Rancho Tehama in 2017.

“They’ve been through so much, both of my sons Johnny and Jake,” Tiffany told KTVU-TV. ‘Already one tragedy. They made that just to come here.”

Five dead in 2017 shooting, including the shooter’s wife

In November 2017, gunman Kevin Janson Neal killed five people and injured fourteen others in the rural Rancho Tehama community of Tehama County before taking his life. The shooting took place at seven different locations in the area.

The first of the fatalities was Neal’s wife, who was murdered in their home and whose body was hidden in a hole Neal had cut in the floor.

Tiffany Phommathep was hit by bullets while sitting in her trucktogether with her two sons Johnny Phommathep Jr. and Jake Phommathep, who were 10 and 7 at the time. Her then 2-year-old son Niko was injured that day by flying shards of glass, according to a Redding Record Searchlight, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Johnny Phommathep Sr., who is believed to have been lost at sea with his son Jake, described the traumatic experience to Record Searchlight earlier in 2017. The Army veteran said Tiffany was temporarily knocked unconscious before holding her wound while driving away. She eventually flagged down a deputy who helped her.

“My family has always been worth more than gold than anything in money. Money cannot replace my family,” he told Record Searchlight in 2017. “I just know I have to do my best to be around them a little more. To pay attention to signs of what I have experienced with the remaining war.”

11-year-old boy on boat found alive on shore

The three Phommathep members on board the boat were accompanied by a 45-year-old cousin Prasong, his son, 11-year-old son Juladi, and their longtime friend, 42-year-old Matthew Ong, KGO-TV reported.

According to KGO-TV, Prasong was found alive, floating on a cooler that the young boy survived.

The US Coast Guard on Sunday around 6:30 p.m. the search for the other four missing boaters was stopped after a search of approximately 57 hours.

“The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and is never taken lightly” Michael L. Zapawa, Chief Officer, U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the missing boaters at this incredibly difficult time.”

After losing her 17-year-old son, Tiffany said she still hopes her husband and another child survived.

“The chances are not likely,” she told the newspaper Los Angeles Times. “But I’d like to cling to the hope that maybe they’ve made it to shore somewhere.”

A GoFundMe The campaign to support the victims raised more than $40,000 on Friday evening.

Contributions: Saman Shafiq