Without a Trace

The long awaited end of the school year had finally arrived and on the morning that the three teenagers went missing, Mrs. Wilder had driven to the Eisenhower Academy to pick up her sixteen years old son, Tad Wilder. At almost six foot tall and being slender in stature, he had to bend down to hug his mother. His older brother Chad wasn't much taller but he had a muscular build. Tad and his mother were well on their way toward Windy Bay where the Wilders had their summer cottage and would be spending the summer months. The Wilder family had been spending the summers on Windy Bay every year since Tad was four years old.This year, however, Tad's older brother Chad would not be joining them. After he had healed from the car accident that he had last year, he had reported for duty back to his Navy Seal Unit. Of course the family were the only ones that knew that he was a Seal. Chad is now on assignment at an undisclosed location.After unloading luggage and several boxes of dry goods into his family's summer cottage, Tad Wilder stood at the back door of the summer cottage and took in the sight of the pier and the bay beyond. He was pleased to see his catamaran docked on one side of the floating pier with his father's schooner tied on the opposite side. Having spent the last nine months with his nose in books, the soon to be seventeen year old, Tad Wilder had been looking forward to putting down the books and spending time with his two summer friends, Michael Morrison, and Kimberly Feller. The three hadn't physically seen each other since last summer, but kept in touch in other ways. He also was looking forward to creaming that braggart Kent Thornsworth at this year's catamaran regatta.Knowing that Tad had a yearning to get out on his catamaran and needing perishables, Mrs. Wilder had made a list of needed supplies, handed Tad a cooler to be strapped onto his catamaran, and sent her son on an errand across the bay to Filbert's Market in Newberry. The sail across the bay was much faster than to drive the distance to the Blackwater Bridge at the end of Windy Bay and following the winding road on the north shore to the market. She had told him that he could take Mike and Kim if he wished. This would be a decision that she would soon be regretting.After two days of searching the bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond for the missing teenagers, the local police and U. S. Coast Guard have yet to turn one shred evidence of the missing teens, their catamaran, or any floating debris. Coast Guard spokesman, Major Colin Moran, could not explain the lack of any evidence, saying, "The teen's disappearance doesn't make any sense at all. We should have found at least something. A catamaran like that doesn't disappear without a trace."The Wilder, Feller, and Morrisons haven't given up and have pleaded with the Coast Guard to not give up the search for their teenagers either. The search continues.As Tad's cat neared the point, he caught sight of Kent Thornsworth. The obnoxious braggart was fishing from his parent's pier. It had been a good day so far until he spotted Thornsworth.Kent also noticed the three sailing out toward open sea. Of course the self-absorbed blow-hard had to needle Tad about last year's Catamaran Regatta.In true Thornsworth fashion, he yelled. "Hey Wilder, what is second place is called?" Kent didn't wait for and answer, he yelled, "It's called first loooooosers.Tad replied, "We'll see who's the loser this year.""Wilder, I hear that the only decent sailor in your family won't be sailing with you this year. Too bad, so sad."Tad tried to shake it off, but Kent had a way of pulling his string.Once the catamaran had cleared the point and headed out into open water, the wind began to pick up It was grand to be out on the bay once again. The three had no idea that short sail across Windy Bay would take two hundred and eighty six days to complete.