After no signs of the missing vessel or its passengers, the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) has suspended its search for three American sailors aboard a sailing vessel last heard from in early April near Mazatlán, Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a release.
“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,” said Cmdr. Gregory Higgins, command center chief, Coast Guard District 11. “SEMAR and U.S. Coast Guard assets worked hand-in-hand for all aspects of the case. Unfortunately, we found no evidence of the three Americans’ whereabouts or what might have happened. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of William Gross, Kerry O’Brien and Frank O’Brien.”
The search was suspended pending further developments after SEMAR and U.S. Coast Guard conducted 281 cumulative search hours covering approximately 200,057 square nautical miles, an area larger than the state of California, off Mexico’s northern Pacific coast with no sign of the missing sailing vessel nor its passengers, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a release Wednesday.
NBC 7 spoke with the family of William "Bill" Gross who said they have not lost hope he and his sailing companions will be found.
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“Our hope is for our Dad, and Kerry and Frank to be sailing into port soon, tired and sore, but safe," the Gross family said in a lengthy written statement on Tuesday. "And our hearts certainly go out to the other two families who are being equally impacted during this extremely difficult time.”
Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien and Bill Gross of San Diego departed Mazatlán, Mexico, on April 4 aboard the sailing vessel Ocean Bound -- a 44-foot La Fitte -- and had planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas en route to San Diego, according to the U.S. Coast Guard District 11.
No record exists of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas, prompting a search by the Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Mexican Navy said Monday it was using four patrol boats and a twin-engine prop airplane to search the area but have not seen any signs of the missing boaters.
Bill Gross's children thanked the sailing community for searching for the missing boaters and urged them to continue their efforts.
"From people posting on social media to HAM radio operators in Mexico to people working to obtain satellite images, THANK YOU! We have received hundreds of messages, tips, and offers of help. The outpouring of love and support is beyond anything we could have ever imagined,” the statement read.
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Cell phone pings on April 4 show the trio off the coast of Mazatlan calling into Cabo San Lucas presumably trying to make slip/ball reservations, the family of Bill Gross stated. That is the last known contact of Kerry, Frank and Bill.
Gross's daughter, Melissa Spicuzza said in a previous interview with NBC 7 that there's nothing her father loves more than being on the water, so much so he lives on it on her boat at the National City marina.
“He loves the ocean and he loves sailing so any opportunity that he has to be on the water, he will take," Spicuzza said.
When two fellow boaters, Kerry and Frank O'Brien asked if he would join them in sailing their boat back from Mazatlán, Mexico, he couldn't resist. Bill Gross left for Mazatlan on March 30 and after waiting out weather conditions, it is believed they departed for Cabo around 9:30 a.m. on April 4.
“The O'Briens have a lot of sailing experience too. They're both licensed coast guard captains so there are almost 100 years of experience among them combined on that boat,” Spicuzza said.
It’s exactly because of their many years of experience that their families can’t explain why they haven’t heard from them in 11 days.
“The last message I got from my dad was, ‘We have a 9:30 departure today,' on Tuesday, April 4,” Spicuzza said.
Spicuzza added that it's very unlike her father not to communicate.
“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," Spicuzza added.
The family is desperate and is pleading with the community to help bring their loved ones home.
"I'm just wanting my dad, my dad and the O’Briens, to roll back in and say, ‘What’s going on guys?'” Spicuzza said.
Search and rescue teams have made contact with marinas throughout Baja, Mexico, and issued urgent marine information broadcasts over VHF radio asking everyone at sea to keep an eye out for the three missing sailors and Ocean Bound.
Anyone with information on the location of the sailors and the vessel is urged to contact the U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue coordination center at 510-437-3701.
