Shasta Lake, Calif. (KRCR/CNN Newsource) – A 12-year-old boy in California was hit by a boat Monday on Shasta Lake. He never resurfaced, and his life-jacket was found with damage consistent with being struck by a propeller.
Wednesday, family and friends were back out on the lake searching for his body.
KRCR’s Cristina Davies spoke with the boy’s grandfather and aunt about their desperate search for closure.
Roxane Maddox, aunt of 12-year-old Auston Strole from Red Bluff, said of her nephew, “He’s a kid that never gave up. He’s a kid that never asked for help.”
On Monday he went missing in Shasta Lake near Digger Bay Marina after he was hit by a boat.
His grandfather Steve Cobb said, “Didn’t believe it. I thought somebody was playing a joke.”
But now this tight knit family is left with just their memories of Auston, “He was little, he was mighty,” Maddox said. “Without him it’s a missing piece. It’s a puzzle.”
When Auston was not at school, he was on the baseball field.
His aunt said, “Auston was probably one of the best catchers you would see at the little league. He just made the all-star team.”
And the lake was his family’s happy place. “Auston’s been tubing since he was little,” explained Maddox.
“He would do it with an infectious smile” Auston’s grandfather sadi. “Always smiling–always.”
Friends and family are spending their days on the lake trying to find closure.
The family welcomes anyone with a boat to come out and help keep a watchful eye on the area.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said a girl under the age of 16 was driving the boat when it hit Auston.
50-year-old Robert Noftz was legally in charge of the boat at the time–he was arrested for boating under the influence.
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