One of the families of the two missing boaters has broken their silence, after the body of one of the men—identified as Richard Boffo—was recovered from Lake Erie.

“Just need Ronnie home so I can bury him so I can try to forget,” said Thomas Young, uncle of Ronnie Young, who remains missing.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Richard Bofo and Ronnie Young—identified by Thomas young's families—disappeared near the Walnut Creek Access area. Now, as the search continues, Ronnie’s loved ones are speaking out. Thomas Young, who was also on the boat that day, says the group had been out fishing and enjoying the lake when tragedy struck.

“The next thing I hear is splash, because one of the guys was on the front of the boat. It was Richie. Well, this time he missed the ladder and kept on going. It was only in the matter of four seconds because he went in the front of the boat—by the time I saw him passing up the ladder, he was already 25–30 feet past the boat,” said Thomas.

Thomas shared that Ronnie then did the unimaginable risking everything to try and save his best friend.

“I said, ‘Ronnie, reach for the lifejacket,’ and then I turn back around, and I already heard splashing—he was swimming towards him. Within about 10–15 feet to him, Ronnie decided he was getting too tired and he turned around and started coming back,” he recalled.

Though Ronnie was a strong swimmer, Thomas explained he was still recovering from two recent back surgeries.

“He turned around and tried coming back and he looked up at me and said, ‘I’m not going to make it.’”

Desperate, Thomas tried to get help.

“I turned around and started screaming to a boat that was, I don’t know, 200–300 feet away. By the time I got a hold of them and got them to get up to us, they tried to save them. When I turned back around—they were gone,” he said.

Richard Bofo’s body was later found roughly five miles from Avonia Beach. The Erie County Coroner, Lyell Cook, ruled his death a drowning. Thomas called Ronnie a hero for doing everything he could to save his best friend.

“Here he gave his life trying to save his best friend,” said Thomas.

Now, the family is holding on to hope that Ronnie will soon be found too.

“The waiting game is the hard part. You know what I mean? You can’t start the healing until he’s found,” Thomas said.