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Close friends, family work to help authorities in search for missing boater

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MARINETTE (NBC 26) — Friends and family still looking for a Green Bay man after his boat was found capsized with no one inside earlier this week.

  • Bill Salnik and his children, Charolette (5) and Joshua (3), were reported missing last weekend
  • They were last seen boating near Egg Harbor and Green Island
  • The bodies of the two children were found, but there's still no sign of Bill

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)

"We're out here to find my friend, Bill," says Mike Balzola. He organized Sunday's community search group.

Balzola also says he has known Bill for nearly 15 years.

"We ride bikes. We rode bikes together a lot. Did a lot of riding and opened a little bike shop together and we did a whole lot together like that."

NBC 26 has been following the search for Salnik after he was reported missing last weekend.

Friends and family of Salnik say he was last seen on Saturday on a blue sailboat near Egg Harbor and on Green Island with his two children, five-year-old Charolette and 3-year-old Joshua.

Salnik and his children were supposed to return to Oconto from nearby Green Island, but after texts from friends and family went unanswered, he was reported missing to local police.

On Monday, the Door County Sheriff's Office found the bodies of Salnik's children one mile south of where they say Bill's boat had capsized.

But as of the release of this story, Bill has still not been found.

Sunday, Balzola was joined by more than a dozen volunteers after posting an open invitation to Facebook. The group's goal is to cover the waters around Marinette assisting authorities in bringing bill home.

"I'm just happy that everybody came together to help," Balzola says, praising the support everyone has shown for finding his friend. "That's about all that we can ask for. Best case scenario? But the best-case scenario? We bring bill home today."

If you find anything that could be linked to Salnik's disappearance, authorities are urging people to call their local police station's non-emergency line or 911.