The search for the final two victims of the Whakaari volcano disaster has been suspended, New Zealand police say.

Authorities had been carrying out water searches for two remaining bodies after the eruption, Australian Winona Langford, 17, and the New Zealand tour guide, Hayden Marshall-Inman, 40.

“This decision follows extensive shoreline and substantial aerial searches from east of White Island to north of Cape Runaway,” said Bay of Plenty’s district commander, Supt Andy McGregor. “Sadly no further items of significance have been located.”

The two victims’ families have been informed and police said they remained ready to respond if new information came to light.

On Monday, police said another victim had died in hospital in Auckland, bringing the death toll to 19.

A funeral service is being held next week for the Langford family. Winona’s parents, Anthony, 51, and Kristine, 45, also died in the eruption. Jesse Langford, 19, survived and has been hospitalised in Sydney.

The families of an American couple who were badly injured in the volcano’s eruption on 9 December have thanked New Zealand authorities, including medical staff caring for the couple. Matthew Urey, 36, and Lauren Urey (Barham), 32, from Richmond, Virginia, were on honeymoon when they were injured on Whakaari.

“There are no words to express how horrible this has been for everyone involved, but we are very lucky and grateful that although Lauren and Matt are severely injured, they’re still with us,” the statement said.

“They are progressing as well as could be hoped for given the severity of their injuries, but they both have a tremendously difficult and long road to recovery ahead of them.”

The families said a GoFundMe page had been set up by the couple’s close friends to help with expenses such as lost wages and ongoing medical care. The campaign had on Tuesday raised $51,000 toward a goal of $100,000. The GoFundMe page said the couple had already undergone multiple surgeries.

Another victim of the eruption was named on Tuesday as Australian Chris Cozad, 43, from Sydney. Cozad was travelling with his wife and family on the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship. He died in Sydney’s Concord hospital on 14 December.

At the time police did not confirm his identity, but Cozad’s daughter, Emily, 19, confirmed it in a Facebook post.

“I will forever treasure every second I got to spend with him the values he has instilled within me and the love he showered me, my sisters and my mum in,” she wrote.

Cozad’s funeral was held on 22 December.

In the days after the explosion, soldiers wearing special breathing apparatus combed the island in an attempt to recover the bodies. Police divers searched the waters around White Island.