DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. — Search teams on Thursday recovered the bodies of two boaters missing since a disastrous sailboat race as an investigation began into circumstances regarding the competition, including whether it should have been canceled because of the threat of bad weather.
The discovery of the bodies of Adam Clark, 17, of Mobile and Robert Thomas, 50, of Pickens, Miss., left one person still unaccounted for and five confirmed dead since a powerful squall disrupted the Dauphin Island Regatta on Saturday.
About 100 boats carrying about 470 people were on Mobile Bay for the race when the squall blew in even though forecasters had issued alerts about the possibility of severe weather along the coast.
Coast Guard Capt. Duke Walker said the probe could include a review of whether the race should have been canceled.
“That’s for the investigation team to consider perhaps,” said Walker, commander of the agency’s Mobile sector.
Leaders at the Fairhope Yacht Club, which organized the race this year, did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment on the investigation.
The probe, which Walker said could take as long as six months, began as crews scaled back the hunt for survivors. Searchers have covered 9,500 square miles of water and combed 164 miles of shoreline looking for survivors, he said.