Family Searching Delta After Couple's Boat Found Abandoned On Thanksgiving
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A Sacramento couple's son is speaking out, hoping someone might hold the clue to his parent's mysterious disappearance.
The couple vanished Thanksgiving Day, and their empty boat was found on the water.
The couple launched their fishing boat from the Hogback Island access point on Thanksgiving and it's now where their family has been searching ever since.
"It's pretty hard for me to comprehend sometimes. I don't understand how this happened," said Jim, the couple's son.
Family and friends of Van and Chantra Chanpenxi are baffled at their mysterious disappearance.
"We've been going out there every single day, just to see what we can find; but, nothing's turned up," said family friend Sarah Vue.
The couple went out on the Delta on their fishing boat Thanksgiving afternoon, but hours later their boat was discovered empty.
"The boat was running, going in circles is what the Coast Guard said," said Vue.
The Coast Guard and deputies searched the area but the only evidence they've found is the couple's truck, which still sits in the parking lot.
Family members say Chantra couldn't swim, but always wore her life jacket on the water. Van is an excellent swimmer who fishes at least once a week.
"He actually is a fighter pilot from Laos, so he's trained to survive in situations like this," said Vue.
With no trace of the couple, the family wonders if someone hurt them.
"They are just really nice people. They have no enemies, nothing like that," said Jim.
Jim is fighting to keep his hope while the search continues to turn up nothing.
"I'm still hoping that they are still alive, they are still OK. Maybe they got injured somewhere, but hopefully they are still alive and well, and I just want them to come home," he said.
The family will now be expanding their search outside of the Delta area, and will be meeting with detectives Monday.
According to the family, Van mentioned he was going to meet a friend that day. But they don't know who that friend was and haven't been able to locate anyone who knows anything about that meeting.
