The owner of the Carol Ann has confirmed that the items belong to his boat, which left from Brunswick, Georgia on Oct. 14
Debris has been found off the coast of Florida that is believed to belong to a missing fishing boat from Georgia that disappeared with three men onboard one month ago.
The Carol Ann, a 31-foot vessel, was reported missing after the boat and its crew — Dalton Conway, Caleb Wilkinson and Tyler Barlow — failed to return as scheduled on Oct. 18, the Coast Guard previously said.
A fish box and buoy balls from the Carol Ann were found Sunday 16 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, according to an announcement from the United Cajun Navy, a non-profit group based in Florida.
The owner of the Carol Ann has confirmed that the items belong to his boat, which left from Brunswick, Georgia on Oct. 14.
“When they retrieved the fish box, there was no growth or algae of any kind on it. So, chances are it hasn’t been in the water very long,” Tyler’s father Chris Barlow told First Coast News.
The Coast Guard sent one of its own vessels “to rejoin the search” on Monday, the United Cajun Navy said. A possible life raft was spotted that same afternoon, but according to a Facebook post from Tyler’s father, it was not found.
The search for the missing boat continued Tuesday morning “with 2 airplanes, a helicopter, volunteer boaters, beach walkers and the US Coast Guard,” according to the United Cajun Navy.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Crews previously spent several days searching more than 94,000 square miles of water for the Carol Ann, according to a previous news release from the Coast Guard. The agency eventually suspended its search.
Some family members of the boaters were upset with the Coast Guard’s decision to suspend its search. In a Facebook post, Tyler Barlow’s mother Kimberly Jones said she and other loved ones “will not give up” on the search for the missing men.
“With utmost respect, we do not feel that a search and rescue mission ends until these three young men are found or any type of evidence,” Jones said at the time.
More than $18,000 has been raised via GoFundMe to support a private search for the missing men.
Jones said it has been a “pretty emotional” since after debris from the Carol Ann surfaced after more than a month of searching, according to WJXT. The possible life raft sighting also stirred up emotions, she added.