KETCHIKAN, Alaska — Two Prince of Wales Island boys who went missing in June were found Friday in Washington state after stepping off the Alaska-Washington ferry.
The 14-year-old and 12-year-old were spotted Friday by a bus driver who noticed they were traveling without an adult, the Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday.
The driver alerted a worker on the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Matanuska who recognized the boys from a missing persons flyer.
"They're keeping them safe until they can be transported back to Alaska," said Laura Simmermeyer, the boys' mother.
The Bellingham Police Department took in the boys and called Simmermeyer to tell her they were in good health.
She said the boys will be evaluated at a mental health facility, and Alaska State Troopers would arrange their return to her.
The boys, Toby and Jacob, were last seen at their mother's house June 1.
Simmermeyer and her husband, John Mathis Sr., have been locked in divorce proceedings in Craig Superior Court since 2010.
Back in June, the mother and one of her four grown daughters told the Daily News they believed that, if the boys were not with their father, John Mathis Sr., or older brother, John Mathis Jr., they were somehow being hidden by them or helped, perhaps with help from other unknown persons.
At the time, the Daily News also contacted the father and brother, who denied knowing anything about the boys' disappearance or whereabouts.
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