http://www.kgun9.com/story.asp?TitleID=3434&ProgramOption=News
Tuesday, November 04, 2003 5:53:40 AM
SEARCH FOR MISSING TUCSON FISHERMEN SHIFTS TO RECOVERY EFFORT By Maria Neider (11/3/03)
Maria Neider
?Since [Joshua Howard] wasn't able to survive, I think many of the families realize they probably don't have much hope of seeing their family alive anymore.? ?- Family friend, John Eckhoff
Families of the missing fishermen held onto hope for more than a week. Now, they're searching for closure. Families and friends of four missing Tucson fishermen are no longer looking for survivors. Their search is now, a recovery effort. Monday, airplanes circled the waters near Rocky Point where the body of 21-year-old Joshua Howard was found Sunday morning. ?Realism has set in when Joshua's body was discovered. The families realized that here's a young man that's very healthy that the men did something to try to survive by putting these ice chests on this young man,? said family friend, John Eckhoff.
The University of Arizona student was found floating face-down in a water ski life jacket-- tethered to two water coolers he had been using to stay afloat. Since Joshua was the youngest in the group, families wondered if the other men gave him the ice chests to help him survive.
A day after discovering Joshua's body, family and friends got a close look at the battered boat where the five fishermen last gathered. The extensive damage sparked more questions.
What caused the boat to capsize?
Did all five men tie themselves together?
And how long could they really survive lost at sea?
The Mexican Navy ended its search for the missing fisherman on Saturday. Although there is little hope the others will be found alive, family and friends in Rocky Point have pilots searching the waters from dawn until dusk. Monday afternoon, a pilot spotted something in the same area where Joshua's body was found. ?They said [it was] basically a dark figure under the surface and you know there are porpoises in the water. There are whales out here so it's very difficult to tell at that distance,? said Eckhoff.
The call turned out to be nothing. Pilots and spotters circled a specific grid where Joshua's body was found--- using binoculars to pinpoint anything. Search crews have faith they can find the remaining four fishermen based on the boat's drift pattern and winds. Eckhoff says they want to bring all of their friends back home so their families can have closure. ?The answer the Bible gives us: Our friends are asleep in death.? They're not undergoing any pain or any suffering at this time. So we have that to comfort us. Instead, it's the ones still living that have to be able to deal with that grief and that's what's difficult.?
An autopsy has been completed on Joshua Howard's cause of death. Those results will not be released until all family has been notified.
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http://www.kgun9.com/story.asp?TitleID=3435&ProgramOption=News
Tuesday, November 04, 2003 5:58:22 AM
FAMILY AND FRIENDS DEAL WITH TRAGIC NEWS OF JOSH HOWARD'S DEATH. By Julie Myers (11/3/03)
Family friends say Josh Howard loved to speak during weekly sessions at his Kingdom Hall.
The Cortaro congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses will miss his involvement in their ministry school.
Jerry Espinoza says, "He's a ball of energy, easy going young man, he really enjoyed giving the talks here."
David Goss says, "We've known Josh since he was a little boy - he was active in the congregation, helping the youth and the older ones." Goss says Josh began to encourage them all as a boy, when he first took the stage at the Kingdom Hall. Goss says, "Reading from the Bible for 5 minutes - he was a good reader, a good communicator."
Tonight, the congregation comes together to encourage and comfort each other. Espinoza says, "For us personally, it's like a member of our own family has been taken away." Jerry Espinoza says the community lost a good man. They remain hopeful the community has not yet lost 5 good men.
Goss says, "We've heard stories of fishermen who've lasted for a long time - so we hope for them and pray for them."
Josh's family hasn't yet made memorial plans. If his father is not found alive, they would like to hold both services together.