State Representative Irv Slosberg is getting involved with the investigation surrounding the disappearance of Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen.
He's asking the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the boat the boys were last seen on in July of last year.
In a letter written to Commissioner Rick Swearingen, Slosberg says "Children missing at sea should never be assumed 'Lost at Sea.'"
He continues to say, "I urge FDLE to take jurisdiction of the current investigation of the crucial evidence now available, to determine what happened to Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen."
The announcement comes a day after boat was finally brought back to south Florida. It was spotted by a Norwegian ship last March off the coast of Bermuda.
He said, "I know how I would feel if this happened to me. I would want the best investigation. I'd want to find out, was my child abducted? Is my child dead? What's the story?"
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is currently handling the investigation, but Slosberg says the FDLE needs to take over.
"Fish and Wildlife probably has a handful of investigators and they're probably not trained the way FDLE is trained where they have 300 investigators full time," he said.
Slosberg says he's also pushing for legislation that would require the FDLE to get involved in any cases where it's possible a child was abducted.
He wrote in his letter to the FDLE commissioner, "It is imperative that when children disappear and abduction has not been ruled out FDLE should be involved immediately."
Perry Cohen's family is also seeking assistance from the FDLE. We reached out to the agency to find out if it's getting involved, but staff have not responded yet.
The FWC has not responded to comments made by Slosberg.
