A search is underway for three Americans who have been missing at sea for 13 days now since setting sail from Mexico en route to San Diego.
Frank O’Brien and Kerry O’Brien — who are husband and wife — as well as their friend, William Gross,have not been seen or heard from since April 4, when the trio left Mazatlán, Mexico, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
A stop in Cabo San Lucas for supplies had been planned for April 6, authorities say, but their 44-foot sailing vessel was not recorded arriving. A report of their location hasn’t been made either.
Now, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy are combing a 2,500-mile area at sea in hopes to track them down.
“Search and rescue coordinators have contacted marinas throughout Baja, Mexico, with negative sightings of the vessel,” the Coast Guard states. “Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel.”
Gross' daughter Melissa Spicuzza toldNBC San Diegothat the O’Brien family invited her father to join them at sea, with all three sailors having decades of experience and the O’Briens having Coast Guard captain’s licenses.
Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien.United States Coast Guard Northern California/Twitter
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(974x459:976x461):format(webp)/coast-guard-3-americans-missing-041723-tout-abe8aa6e45ef4a3b9b1e25a06ae6f1d8.jpg)
“I’m just wanting my dad, my dad and the O’Briens, to roll back in and say, ‘What’s going on guys?'” she said.
“The last message I got from my dad was, ‘We have a 9:30 departure today,’ on Tuesday, April 4,” Spicuzza added. “… We communicate constantly with family and friends. We have a Facebook group that we post to. We check in. If our sailing plan changes, we let people know.”
The LaFitte model 44 sailing yacht.United States Coast Guard Northern California/Twitter
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(949x584:951x586):format(webp)/coast-guard-3-americans-missing-041723-1-dacbf0e1c65a48d1949863934fdf93a0.jpg)
Kerry O’Brien’s mother Ellen Argyle told local outletKFMBthat her daughter has “always loved the water” since she was a child, and has been sailing for about 20 years.
“They just keep hoping, hoping and praying that I’ll hear some good news. I want good news, not bad news,” Argyle said.
LaFitte model 44 sailing yacht.United States Coast Guard Northern California/Twitter
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(702x0:704x2):format(webp)/coast-guard-3-americans-missing-041723-2-1e6d12f55a2c4279a11590fc75323d5a.jpg)
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Family members have said that hundreds of boats have been helping in the search, with sailors throughout Southern California offering assistance.
“There is no confirmation they had filled the vessel’s fuel tanks, nor confirmation that they took on food and supplies,” Coast Guard Commander Gregory Higginstold NBC News on theTodayshowMonday, adding that they don’t believe the trio have enough fuel or food on board for 13 days at sea.
Those with any information on their whereabouts are encouraged to contact the U.S. Coast Guard’srescue coordination center.
source: people.com