Police end search for missing Mahopac brothers

Authorities have called off the search for four hunters, including two Mahopac brothers, who have been missing since their SUV crashed into an Idaho river more than a week ago.

Mahopac High School graduates Raymond Ferrieri, 24, and his 21-year-old brother, Jesse, were with four other men in an SUV that overturned in the Selway River while hunting in the Bitterroot National Forest on May 21.

Two of the men survived after escaping the SUV, which was empty when it was pulled to shore last week, but the other four have not been found.

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Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings told the Missoulian that searchers found a boot, but nothing more, despite the help of a fast-water diver, search dogs, a helicopter and float and ground teams from both Idaho and Montana.

“After so long, there’s only so much you can do,” Giddings said. “A search like this can go on forever.”

Volunteers and relatives of the missing men have been helping search the area, which is a remote part of the Idaho wilderness near the Montana border. Mahopac resident Bianca Bunyea, a cousin of the Ferrieris, said last week that her relatives were staying positive as the search continued.

"We're just really asking for everyone's prayers that they're found safely," she told The Journal News/lohud. "Hopefully they come home safely."

On Friday night St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac will host a prayer service for the Ferrieris.

The brothers' mother, Sue Bunyea, posted on her Facebook page earlier this week asking for President Donald Trump's help with the search, a message that has been shared by her family and friends on social media.

"I am begging you to please send the resources needed to aid this state in the return of all the boys," she wrote. "I'm begging you or the NRA to reach out to the Idaho Sheriff's Department and see what we you [sic] can do."

Sue Bunyea also thanked her family and friends for their support.

"Thank you for all the love and support because I am truly the luckiest mother in the USA to have the greatest kids a mother could ever ask for," she wrote.

Jesse Gunin and Jason Lewis of Georgia survived the crash. In addition to the Ferrieris, 21-year-old Montana resident Koby Clark and 22-year-old Oregon resident Reece Rollins are missing.

The men were on the last day of a bear and wolf hunt, and the vehicle was traversing a narrow dirt road along the river when the crash occurred.

Giddings said it often takes time to recover bodies from the water. That’s partly because the remains often sink until enough gasses begin to form during the decomposition process to cause them to float, he said.

“With this cold water, it’s hard to know how long that will take,” Giddings said. “Sometimes it takes two weeks and sometimes it takes longer.”

The river is federally designated as a wild and scenic river. The U.S. Forest Service allows only one launch a day through the prime floating season.

Officials with the Bitterroot National Forest are asking floaters to watch for any evidence from the crash and get GPS coordinates if possible if they spot anything that could be helpful to the searchers.

"A Prayer Service of Hope" has been organized for Jesse and Raymond Ferrieri and their family. The service is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at St. John the Evangelist in Mahopac. All are invited to attend the service. A donation will be collected to support the family and their recovery. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Twitter: @MattSpillane