A family that is still reeling from an unspeakable tragedy has been given a small sense of comfort. Two teenage stepbrothers from Maine were found dead last week after they had gone swimming at a popular swimming spot in Sanford. After their deaths, the family shared that the brothers were found holding onto each other, which is a tragic, but shows just how close they were.
There are still questions to be answered about what exactly led to the boys' deaths, but the family does know that they were together throughout what was surely a scary ordeal.
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It was an unspeakable tragedy.
Tavayne Weir, 17, and his stepbrother, D’andre Graham, 16, died during an outing to Springvale Recreation Area, which is a popular swimming spot. The area also has a cliff that is about 30 feet high, and it is common to see people jumping off the cliff. In the designated swimming area, there are rocks that people use to jump and climb. The swimming area has lifeguards on duty during the day.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions.
According to local news coverage, the boys told their parents that they were going swimming. When they didn't return home for their 10 p.m. curfew, their parents called the police. The police arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. and found the boys' car, but there was no other trace of them around. Because it was dark, the police called the fire department to help with the search. About an hour and a half later, the boys' bodies were found.
"Using flashlights and high intensity lights, they were able locate them below the water," Maj. Matthew Gagne from the Sanford Police Department told local news outlet WMTW.
It was a truly awful ending to their short lives.
"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," Gagne explained.
It is hard to determine what the boys had been doing before they drowned, or where exactly they were when things went wrong. "There was probably a one- or two-mile-an-hour current, too, so that can change where they were located," Gagne added.
Autopsies will be performed to find an exact cause of death.
A family in crisis turned to their community.
A family friend created a GoFundMe for the family to help with the unexpected costs of losing their children. The fundraiser gave more details about the boys' deaths.
"The two boys lost their lives while swimming at a popular local spot in town. They showed incredible courage and loyalty, holding on to each other until the very end, demonstrating the deep bond they shared," the caption reads.
"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. 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."
The fundraiser shared that the boys had big future plans.
"Tavayne had just received his driver's license and was eager to start working. He and D'andre had planned to become door dashers, sticking together as always, with the hope of providing for the family and allowing their parents to finally rest," the post reads, adding that they planned to start the day after they died.
Currently, the family is trying to decide if they want to have the boys' bodies sent to their home country of Jamaica to be buried or keep them in Maine.
