Officials: Two weeks later, search for missing hunters now a recovery effort (Source: BRIAN STANSBERRY) By WLBT Digital | December 17, 2020 at 9:46 PM CST - Updated December 18 at 8:58 AM WARREN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) - After a 14-day search for two missing hunters in the Mississippi River, officials are now describing their endeavor as a recovery effort. The hunters, 16-year-old Gunner Palmer and 21-year-old Zeb Hughes, both of Copiah County, went missing while scouting duck hunting locations near Palmira Island the afternoon of December 3. A dog traveling with the hunters that day has also not been found. The boat belonging to the pair was discovered capsized on Middle Ground Island, which is about 12 miles south of where they had originally launched. Most items from inside their boat have since been recovered, including two life jackets.