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The search for three Americans who were reported missing two weeks ago, after sailing off the coast of Mexico to California, has been called off, authorities in both countries said.
The US Coast Guard in Alameda, California, on Wednesday said that the Mexican Navy, known as SEMAR, had informed the agency that it had suspended the search for the three men after a cumulative effort of 281 hours covering more than 200,000 nautical miles. mile.
The missing men, a woman and two men identified as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross, were sailing on Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte yacht. He was last heard from on April 4, when he was near Mazatlán, Mexico, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The Coast Guard did not determine his age Thursday.
The three travelers had left Mazatlán for San Diego, and were scheduled to stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on April 6 to resupply, according to the Coast Guard.
“However, they did not report or arrive in Cabo San Lucas,” the Coast Guard said.
On Saturday, the Coast Guard shared information and photos of the missing sailors and ships.
The Coast Guard said the search covered “an area larger than the state of California” off the Pacific coast north of Mexico, but there was no sign of the missing boat or passengers. The Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy are cooperating in coordinating and conducting the search.
As part of the effort, marine broadcasts were sent over VHF radio, but did not provide any clues about the missing voyagers.
“An extensive search was conducted by our international search and rescue partner, Mexico, with the US Coast Guard and Canada providing additional search assets,” Cmdr. Gregory Higgins, chief of the Coast Guard District 11 command center, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we found no evidence of where the three Americans were or what might have happened.”
He added that his “deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends” of the three sailors. His relatives could not immediately reach him on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Heather Alcazar, one of Mr. Gross’ daughters, thanked the Coast Guard, the Mexican Navy, the Canadian Navy and the boating community for their search efforts in a social media post.
“Hopefully Dad, Kerry, and Frank will sail into port, tired and sore, but safe,” she wrote.
O’Brien’s mother, Ellen Argall, told CBS News this week that Frank and Kerry O’Brien are married and are both licensed boat captains and has been sailing for almost 20 years. He had invited his friend, Mr. Gross, to join him on this trip.
“It’s agony, pure agony,” Ms. Argall said in that interview. “I’ve tried to keep to myself.”
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