Father: Missing teen fisherman’s phone can’t be fixed

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) – The father of a missing teen fisherman says Apple could not retrieve any text messages or other data from his son’s recovered cellphone.

Blu Stephanos issued a statement Wednesday saying the iPhone owned by his son Austin was damaged beyond repair after being at sea since last July.

Austin and his friend Perry Cohen, both 14, went missing after their 19-foot boat overturned off the coast of Jupiter, Florida, during a storm. They were never found despite a massive air and sea search.

Their boat was found and recovered by a Norwegian cargo ship near Bermuda in March. Austin’s phone was found onboard and the boys’ families hoped it might hold clues about what happened.

Blu Stephanos said he would keep the phone as a memento of his son.