1 Month Later, Volunteers Search Desperately For Missing Boater

EAST MARION, NY — This weekend will mark four long weeks since the night that changed Michelle McKenna's life forever.

Almost four weeks of agonizing days and nights as the broken-hearted mother waits for the phone call that has never come — a phone call with news of her beautiful daughter Sofia, who went missing with her friend Spencer Mugford, 20, on the Long Island Sound on Memorial Day weekend.

The search for the missing Groton boaters was suspended by the Coast Guard after an undamaged 14-foot white and blue sailboat with no mast washed up on Truman Beach in East Marion.

But despite the fact that the official search for Sofia, 21, and her friend was called off, and Mugford's body was found earlier in June — a devoted group of friends and mariners continues to search, during long days and dark nights, hoping for a sign of the girl who touched countless hearts with her smile.

Determined, a non-profit drone search organization is set to scour the waters — and a small but dogged group of volunteers has been relentless in their efforts to find Sofia, her mother said.

"I miss her so much," McKenna said. "I just pray that God has mercy on my soul and brings her back to me soon."

Her Facebook page has been filled with photographs and memories of her firstborn. "She was so pretty," she said. "We should not outlive our children."

McKenna said the weeks since her girl went missing have been a blur. But the kindness of a community that has rallied, searching for her daughter, organizing a vigil, a GoFundMe, and a fundraiser that's planned for July, has been a beacon of hope in the darkest of hours. "I am humbled and appreciative for everyone’s cares concern and prayers for my family at this time," McKenna said.

Mystery still shrouds that night. Recently, McKenna said she got a text from Sofia's phone —which is now in police custody, as Sofia had left it in the car the night she went missing on the boat — but there's no explanation for the text.

The text, although inexplicable, gives some flicker of hope. "At this point I hope someone does have her and I hope that we find her alive and well. It’s just maddening to sit here and have to wait every day for the phone call that never comes," McKenna said.

McKenna said on social media that her daughter took a Snapchat of Spencer at 2 a.m. on a paddle board; from 2:05 a.m. until 2:09 a.m., she said, she received seven missed phone calls from Spencer's cell phone. But she was asleep and did not get the calls. She added that Spencer and her daughter were just friends.

Mugford's body was found on June 8; it was determined that the two had set out on a boat belonging to the University of Connecticut - Avery Point.

According to Lt. Alaina Fagan, public affairs officer for Coast Guard sector Long Island Sound, a good Samaritan located a body, positively identified as Spencer Mugford, 21, of Groton, CT about two-and-a-half miles southeast of Avery Point, north of Dumpling Island and not far from Plum Island.

USCG Station New London sent a small boat to transport Mugford's body back, Fagan said.

Friends and family have been rallying fiercely to bring the two missing young people home safely since the first; that effort continues for Sofia. A GoFundMe, "Bring Sofia & Spencer Home" was created to help.

McKenna, Sofia's devastated mom, "has experienced the most traumatic thing I could ever imagine while being a parent," the page said.

McKenna, desperate to find her beautiful daughter, has continually implored the public and those with vessels for help to continue searching the water.

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound command center said it received notification at approximately 6:30 p.m., Sunday from the City of Groton Police Department that Mugford and McKenna were missing.

When Mugford failed to make an event Sunday morning, his parents notified the City of Groton Police Department to report him missing. Mugford and McKenna's departure point was unknown and there was no response from their cell phones.

The Coast Guard, along with state and local agencies searched for a total of 71 hours, and saturated a 2025 square-mile area to locate the two missing people in the water before the search was called off, the agency said.

"Suspending a search for missing or overdue boaters is never an easy decision to make after an extensive search," said Cmdr. Andrew Ely, chief of response, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. "We search for every person as if we are searching for one of our own. We extend our deepest condolences."

With no word yet of her beloved daughter, McKenna opened her heart on social media: "Thank you everyone out there that is still praying for a miracle and searching — walking, boating flying — connecting with friends, family and strangers on the internet and passing the word: Sofia cannot be forgotten."

She added: "I just want to get my angel back."

Patch photo courtesy Michelle McKenna.