PHOTO: Brown Co Emergency Management
OCONTO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The bodies of two young children were found after their sailboat was found capsized in the waters of Door County.
A search began over the weekend for the two children, ages 3 and 5, and their father, 32-year-old Bill Salnik of Little Suamico, after they went sailing Saturday.
Officials say the three left Oconto Harbor after 10 a.m. and around noon, officials received a report of an overdue boat. That’s when the search began.
The family’s intended route was to go from Green Island in the bay to a marina just south of Oconto but they never made it to their destination.
Salnik’s truck and trailer was still at the boat ramp and his phone calls went straight to voicemail.
At 6:22 a.m. Monday, the capsized sailboat was found just south of Chambers Island, without Salnik and his children. The vessel was was towed to Fish Creek.
After 11 a.m. Monday, searchers found the bodies of the two young children about a mile south of where the sailboat was found.
The Door County Sheriff’s Office says they will continue their land and sea search efforts to find Salnik.
Due to warmer water temperatures, officials say it is still possible to find Salnik alive.
Officials are asking those out on the water to keep an eye out for anything that may be related to the search for Salnik.
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