Son’s Dream Came True for His 11th Birthday When He Went on Fishing Trip with His Dad. Now, They're Missing
The pair have since been identified as Constantin Leahu and his 11-year-old son Andrei
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US Coast Guard buoy and ship at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OregonA father was celebrating his son's 11th birthday in Oregon last weekend when both went missing after the boat they were on capsized.
The Coast Guard said on X (formerly known as Twitter) that authorities responded to a call about a capsized 26-foot boat off the Columbia River Bar on July 13 at 10:30 a.m. local time.
Three of the five members aboard the boat were located, although one man who was rescued died at a local hospital, according to FOX affiliate KPTV. Additionally, two people, identified as a 54-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy, remained missing.
The next day, the agency announced on X that it had suspended the search for the missing father and son that morning, "pending further developments."
PEOPLE has reached out to the Coast Guard's Seattle office.
The pair have since been identified as Constantin Leahu and his son Andrei, according to KPTV.
Florentin Agoston said in a GoFundMe fundraiser that Constantin "left behind" wife Elena Venera and their four daughters, Anamaria, Daria, Elizabeth and Melanie.
Over $77,000 has been raised as of Friday, July 19, to "help secure the family’s immediate and future needs, medical bills, and other expenses," per the campaign.
Friend Irina Negrean said Constantin was an avid fisherman who took his son along with him on the fishing trip near Astoria for the first time because of his birthday, KPTV reported.
“Andrei had wished to go with him for so long, so this was a dream come true to be out on a fishing boat with his dad,” Negrean said, adding that the boy's birthday cake was "still in the fridge."
"It is just a monumental loss,” Negrean said.
Related: 16 People Missing Off Fla. Coast as U.S. Coast Guard Calls Off One Search and Launches Another
Andrei — the "second oldest" of the children — was "incredibly bright, funny, and a social butterfly" who was "beloved anywhere he went," per the fundraiser. "He loved his sisters openly and sincerely, helped often in church, and always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye."
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The Columbia River Bar has earned a local reputation for being difficult to navigate, per Oregon State Parks, which notes that it has earned the nickname "Graveyard of the Pacific." Officials have also reported that nearly 2,000 ships have sunk in this area since 1792.
“I don’t think we have a lot of hope to find them alive at this point and so we’re trying to figure out the next steps,” said Negrean, per KPTV.
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