Chopper 8, DNR boat find missing father, sons

MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) -  

The two boys and their father who were thought missing when they did not come home from a rafting trip Wednesday night have been reunited with relieved family members.

Anthony Short, 35, and his two sons Luke, 9, and Cole, 6, put their raft into the White River near the town of Waverly around 5 p.m. They were supposed to float six miles down stream where Short's wife would be waiting for them at 8 p.m. but they never made it to their destination at Henderson Ford Road.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Indiana State Police searched the area by boat and helicopter at 11 p.m. but called the search off around 1 a.m. Search crews reassembled at 8 a.m. and launched DNR's air boat, the only boat at the scene that could navigate the shallow waters.

Chopper 8 flew overhead as crews searched and spotted the trio's blue raft around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, moments later the DNR boat pulled up next to the group's campsite.

Images from Chopper 8 showed one of the boys fishing as the search crews arrived.

Minutes later the boys and their father were returned to the arms of waiting family members.

The father told reporters he had no idea search parties were searching for he and the boys.

"The fish were biting and we decided to fish...then it was too dark to get back so we decided to stay put...I didn't have a cell phone to call my wife," Anthony said.

Anthony said the boys weren't worried, "They were just worried that the fish weren't going to bite."

Anthony described how he and the boys "snuggled up" under the raft to keep warm overnight. He told reporters the trio started a small fire to help keep warm.

The boys, both avid fishermen, are both students at Neil Armstrong School.