MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A family is stepping out on faith and continuing to search for their loved ones despite the U.S. Coast Guard suspending the search more than 24 hours ago.
Family and friends of Keith Pigram and Anquavius Jamison pulled their own search crew together to find the father and son who disappeared after the tug boat they were working on sunk in the MIssissippi River on Thursday.
The boaters family searched from about 1 p.m. in the afternoon until sundown. They looked through different areas near the river and were constantly calling their family members names.
Even though they didn’t find the missing boaters, they said they will not give up.
“People are saying ‘RIP Keith, RIP Que.’ My brother is not dead. Que is not dead. They are somewhere cold waiting to be rescued,” said Molly Harris, Keith Pigram’s sister.
They family says they will keep a tight grip on hope, no matter how tough it gets.
“I am not going to believe that they are dead until I see bodies, or until a see a casket,” said Harris. “I am not giving up on my brother. Everyone else can, but we will not.”
The family of the missing boaters has been trying to wake up from this nightmare ever since they learned Keith Pigram and Anquavius Jamison vanished after their tug boat sank.
The coast guard searched for the boys on Thursday and Friday but have now called of their search, saying they didn’t have the tools to continue.
“That doesn’t mean we are done,” said Harris. “I am out here. I got on boots, and I’m sinking in the sand trying to find my brother. Our family is out there.”
“We are moving off of just faith and prayer, and that’s it,” said Kimberly Newsome, Anquavius Jamison’s mother.
The family says they don’t feel like they have had much support throughout this ordeal, and that’s why they will continue to search on their own terms until they get closure.
