When a boat with hundreds of refugees on board disappears in the busy Mediterranean Sea, the authorities usually know what is happening. But when 243 men, women and children vanished on one boat in 2014, no authorities were willing to take responsibility for the search. So we stepped up. Since last year, we’ve worked for hundreds of hours and seen thousands of people contribute to our investigation to find the Ghost Boat. We’ve uncovered tragic stories, spoken to dozens of sources, chased leads, and found plenty of dead ends—and we’re still looking. Nominated for the 2015 National Magazine Award for Reporting.