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Search Halted for 3 Americans Missing Off the Mexican Coast

Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross, who were sailing aboard the Ocean Bound, were last heard from near Mazatlán, Mexico, on April 4.

The Ocean Bound in the waters of a port on a cloudy day. Its sails are folded.

By Johnny Diaz

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, the authorities in both countries said.

The U.S. Coast Guard in Alameda, Calif., said on Wednesday that the Mexican Navy, known as SEMAR, had informed the agency that it had suspended its search for the three people after an effort of a cumulative 281 hours covering just over 200,000 square nautical miles.

The missing people, a woman and two men identified as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross, were sailing aboard the Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte sailboat. They were last heard from on April 4, when they were near Mazatlán, Mexico, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The three travelers had left Mazatlán on their way to San Diego, and they were scheduled to stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on April 6 to resupply the boat with provisions, according to the Coast Guard.

“However, they did not report in or arrive in Cabo San Lucas,” the Coast Guard said.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard shared information and photos of the missing sailors and the vessel.

The Coast Guard said that the search encompassed “an area larger than the state of California” off Mexico’s northern Pacific Coast, but that there were no signs of the missing boat or its passengers. The Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy worked together in coordinating and conducting the search.

As part of the effort, marine broadcasts were dispatched over VHF radio, but they did not yield any clues about the location of the missing travelers.

“An exhaustive search was conducted by our international search-and-rescue partner, Mexico, with the U.S. Coast Guard and Canada providing additional search assets,” Cmdr. Gregory Higgins, command center chief of Coast Guard District 11, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we found no evidence of the three Americans’ whereabouts or what might have happened.”

He added that “our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends” of the three sailors.

After the suspension of the search, Heather Alcazar, one of Mr. Gross’s daughters, said on Thursday that “although this was devastating news for our families, we support the decision of SEMAR and the U.S.C.G.”

Ms. Alcazar said her father, 71, is a San Diego resident.

“Knowing that our family members have been part of a multinational search is not something we take for granted,” Ms. Alcazar said. “It shows the kind of commitment and cooperation we will all praise in the years to come.”

“Ocean Bound and her crew are missing,” she added, “but they will not be forgotten.”

Ms. O’Brien’s mother, Ellen Argall, said on Friday that her daughter, who is 52, and Frank O’Brien have been married for 18 years, and that both are licensed boat captains who have sailed for nearly 20 years. The couple , who live in Girdwood, Alaska, had invited their friend Mr. Gross to join them on the trip, Ms. Argall said.

“I was devastated but I understand,” she said of the suspension of the search. “I still have a glimmer of hope. I am not going to lose my little glimmer of hope.”

Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. More about Johnny Diaz

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Search underway for 3 Americans who were to sail from Mexico more than a week ago

SAN DIEGO — A search is underway after three Americans who were to set sail for the U.S. from Mazatlán, Mexico, and haven't been seen or heard from in more than 10 days.

Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross reportedly left April 4, and intended to make a provisions stop in Cabo San Lucas, roughly 200 nautical miles across the Sea of Cortez, on April 6 before heading to San Diego, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

"However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location," the Coast Guard said in a statement Friday.

Gross' daughter, Melissa Spicuzza, said the O'Briens invited her father to sail with them and he jumped at the chance because he loves being on the water, according to NBC San Diego. She said her father lives on a boat on San Diego Bay.

Each missing American, Spicuzza said, has decades of sailing experience, and the O'Briens have Coast Guard captain's licenses, required for voyages with paying passengers.

"I'm just wanting my dad, my dad and the O’Briens, to roll back in and say, ‘What’s going on guys?'” she told the station.

The Mexican navy was leading the search for the three, and the Coast Guard was helping, the U.S. military branch said.

Searchers have contacted marinas in Baja, Mexico, but no one has reported seeing the trio's boat, a LaFitte model 44 sailing yacht, the Coast Guard said.

Urgent marine broadcasts via VHF radio have so far turned up no reports of the sailors or the 44-foot vessel, the Ocean Bound, it said.

The model was sold in the 1970s and 1980s by LaFitte Yachts Inc. of Newport Beach. The company said it was conceived by noted yacht designer Robert Perry as "the ultimate cruising yacht hull," according to marketing material from the time.

The National Weather Service reported that seas along the Baja coast Saturday included waves as high as 10 feet.

Anyone with information on the trio's whereabouts or that of the vessel is asked to contact the Coast Guard.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.