A week passes since couple went missing in Marin County

TOMALES BAY, Calif. - Friday marked one week since a Palo Alto couple disappeared while visiting the Marin County coast. 

One week with no sightings, but the search isn't finished. 

Boats and planes continued to traverse Tomales Bay Friday, although the search is considered a recovery mission,  assuming the pair won't be found alive. 

Carol Kapursky, 77, and husband Ian Irwin, 72, were staying at an Airbnb property in Inverness, where their car, wallets, cell phones and clothing were found. 

A neighbor reported seeing them walking away from the cottage late Friday afternoon. 

Searching began Sunday after they missed a family gathering and were reported missing.

For many searchers, quitting doesn't feel like an option. 

"No, it doesn't bring the family any resolution and it doesn't bring the community any resolution," said Burton Eubank, a Captain with the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department. 

Eubank and other Inverness natives have helped guide ground teams, nearly 150 searchers at first. Then focus shifted to Tomales Bay because of what tracking dogs found.    

"It's different dogs in the same spot," said Eubank.

Four times dogs hit on the couple's scent at the water line of a beach closest to the rental cottage. 

"We do believe there's a possibility of a double drowning because often when a person starts to drown, and they're next to somebody else, they'll grab hold of that other person," said Eubank.   

The water is being searched, allowing for wind and tides. 

"Checking the shoreline, checking the moorings, the pilings underneath the houses, and looking in the oyster beds," detailed Eubank. 

For residents of Inverness, it's eerie, having no answers after a week. 

"We grew up here and it's such a small town, but now it's on the map," said Laughty Nixdorf, hiking with her sister and their children to Shell Beach, where the couple is believed to have been last. "We can tell that Search and Rescue has been here, it looks trampled, like people have gone off the path." 

The mystery, the sisters say, is weighing on everyone's mind. 

"It's just depressing, really strange and unsettling," said Ilie Waterson, "and usually we let the kids run down the beach by themselves, and today we said stay closer."

People are mystified because there would be visible signs if the two had become lost or injured. 

Some have speculated it was an abduction but crime in the area is uncommon. 

"If there was any kind of struggle, somebody would notice, neighbors are nosy and everybody's looking out their window," said Waterson. 

Marin Sheriff's Detectives and Palo Alto Police have been looking into the couple's finances and found no irregularities.

"Nothing has been stolen, there's been no ransom note, so I don't see how there would be a motive for them to be taken," said Eubank. 

Residents do find it odd that the afternoon of February 14, no one reports seeing the couple on the beach trail.    

"A holiday weekend and there were many, many people out walking and hiking, it was a pretty busy time," said Matthew Anderson, enjoying Shell Beach with his wife. 

"Perhaps an end-of-life wish? Possibly? Because otherwise it is really difficult to get lost here," said Genevieve Anderson.

But the couple's three sons say their parents, Stanford University retirees, were happy, enjoying life and travel. 

They visited Inverness time and time again, drawn by its beauty and tranquility. 

Now the close-knit town has a cloud over it, and residents hope it answers come soon.    

"Even though these folks were not from this community, anybody who comes here becomes part of our family," said Eubank. 

Saturday, the search resumes with boats, drones, a plane and ground teams. 

Efforts will continue Sunday by water and overhead, with jet skis in the mix on Monday. 

The Marin County Sheriff's Department has not indicated when it will call off the search.