California, Nov 10, (V7N) – A Northern California family is facing a second devastating tragedy after surviving a 2017 mass shooting. This time, they are grappling with the disappearance of several loved ones in a fatal boating accident off the coast of Bodega Bay.
On November 2, a 21-foot Bayliner boat carrying six people, including three adults and three children, went missing after they failed to return to shore. The boaters had been crabbing in the waters off Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. The missing individuals include Johnny Phommathep Sr., 41, and his two sons, 17-year-old Johnny II and 14-year-old Jake.
The body of Johnny Phommathep II was found washed up on shore the next day, but his father and younger brother remain presumed lost at sea. The family is from Tehama County, about 180 miles north of Bodega Bay.
Tiffany Phommathep, the boys' mother, spoke of her family's strength in the face of tragedy. She described her husband as a “great dad” and said her sons had already survived a mass shooting in 2017. That year, the family was among the survivors of a shooting spree in Rancho Tehama, where five people were killed. Tiffany, along with her sons Johnny and Jake, were shot while in their truck.
The other members of the boating group include 45-year-old Prasong Phommathep, his 11-year-old son, and longtime family friend Matthew Ong. Prasong was found alive, floating on a cooler, but the search for the remaining four boaters was suspended by the U.S. Coast Guard after 57 hours.
A GoFundMe page to support the family has raised over $40,000, as the community rallies around them during this incredibly difficult time.
END/NYC/SMA/
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