Police believe that on Dec. 31, 2021, Khori Prince and Kelvin Turnbull Jr. boarded the 36-foot Avanti speed-boat Gorda Sound.
They’ve been missing ever since, but on Monday a photo began circulating on social media of a row of boat seats that appeared to match the Gorda Sound, prompting commenters to speculate on the fate of the two young men.
Asked about speculation that seats from the boat may have been found near Florida, Police Information Officer Akia Thomas stated, “There are posts circulating alleging this. The [police], however, [have] no further information at this time.”
Gino Gargiulo, the Facebook user who posted photos of the seats — an orange and white four-seat bench with some discoloration and missing pieces — could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.
But according to Mr. Gargiulo’s post, a friend found the seats while sword fishing about 15 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.
Mr. Gargiulo wrote that after he posted a photo of the seats on a boating Facebook page, seven people from St. Thomas had contacted him seeking more information.
Police, prison and court officials have previously declined to explain why Mr. Prince was apparently able to board a boat on Dec. 31 despite receiving a more-than-three-year prison sentence on Dec. 3.
The search
Allina Sprauve and Ahelia Turnbull — mothers to Mr. Prince and Mr. Turnbull, respectively — said that they didn’t know their sons associated with each other, and that they had no idea where they might have gone after allegedly setting off on New Year’s Eve.
Nonetheless, Mses. Sprauve and Turnbull began working with each other to try and track their sons’ potential movements, calling police and customs departments across the Caribbean looking for information.
Following a search in local waters for the missing men, police undertook a similar effort, but after a month of investigations, neither the mothers nor police were any closer to finding the missing men.
“I’ll keep searching, keep praying, and I’m hoping that answer will come in some way,” Ms. Turnbull told the Beacon in February.
