A community in Sanford, Maine, is mourning the deaths of two teenage stepbrothers whose bodies were found after they apparently drowned in a popular recreational swimming area.
Tavayne Weir, 17, and his stepbrother D'andre Graham, 16, did not return home following a visit to the Springvale Recreation Area/Holdsworth Park on Sunday, July 7, according to a release from the Sanford Police Department shared with PEOPLE. Their bodies were later found on Monday, July 8, in the Mousam River following an extensive overnight search, police said.
After the brothers missed their curfew, the Sanford Police Department was notified at 11 p.m. local time. “Sanford Police along with Sanford Fire Dept. responded to Holdsworth Park and located the juvenile's vehicle,” the release said.
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After officials conducted a search “of the park and the waterway,” the two juveniles were found “in the water deceased,” according to the Sanford Police Department.
Major Matthew Gagne told the local outlet WMTW that police assumed the boys were by themselves when they went in the water, but have not confirmed that detail at present. Authorities are also currently unclear on what time they went in.
"We don't know if they were jumping or just swimming because we don't know -
exactly what time they went in. We assume they were probably by themselves as well because we had no calls from that area that anybody was in distress or actively drowning," he said.
Gagne added, "There was probably a one- or two-mile-an-hour current, too, so that can change where they were located."
Per the release, police do not suspect any foul play and the chief medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy on the boys to determine an official cause of death.
Following the teens' tragic death, a GoFundMe page was created to help their family help transport their bodies back to Jamaica and be laid to rest there.
Their parents had recently moved to Maine "in search of a better future," and their sons were "visiting for the summer before making the permanent move to be together again."
"They showed incredible courage and loyalty, holding on to each other until the very end, demonstrating the deep bond they shared," read the page's description.
"Tavayne and D'andre always considered each other brothers, and when their parents Kerryan and Morris got married last year, it made their brother bond official," continued the description. "They were more than stepbrothers; they were true brothers to each other. Growing up in Jamaica, they did everything together, from playing basketball and riding bikes to gaming."
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