(AP) — A Nebraska man is among seven people reportedly lost at sea between New Zealand and Australia.

The family 27-year-old  learned on Friday that New Zealand authorities concluded a classic American schooner carrying seven people sank between New Zealand and Australia earlier this month. Jackson’s family says he was aboard the “Nina.”

Jackson graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009 with a degree in environmental studies and was a page for U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson in 2006.

He worked on a farm west of Lincoln and with his father on a ranch near Bassett.

His family says they’re hoping for good news as rescue crews search for the boat and any survivors.