At 8:04 pm (PST) this evening, Coast Guard crews suspended their search for four sailors missing since Saturday afternoon when their sailing vessel, the Low Speed Chase, grounded near the Farallon Islands, the US Coast Guard said on Sunday.
Throughout the course of a search covering an area of more than 5,000 square miles, efforts by multiple air assets included a C-130 airplane from Air Station Sacramento, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco and two Pave Hawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing at Moffett Field near Sunnyvale, CA. Surface efforts included the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, the 87-foot Cutters Pike and Sockeye, and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat, all from the San Francisco Bay Area. Despite the recovery of three survivors and a deceased individual within hours of the grounding, the combined efforts of these numerous assets were unable to locate the four missing crew members as of Sunday evening.
"The decision to suspend a search and rescue case like this is never an easy one to make," said Captain Cynthia Stowe, Sector San Francisco commanding officer. "The Coast Guard extends our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the lost crewmen and the deceased. They will all be in our thoughts and prayers."
Throughout the course of a search covering an area of more than 5,000 square miles, efforts by multiple air assets included a C-130 airplane from Air Station Sacramento, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco and two Pave Hawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing at Moffett Field near Sunnyvale, CA. Surface efforts included the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, the 87-foot Cutters Pike and Sockeye, and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat, all from the San Francisco Bay Area. Despite the recovery of three survivors and a deceased individual within hours of the grounding, the combined efforts of these numerous assets were unable to locate the four missing crew members as of Sunday evening.
"The decision to suspend a search and rescue case like this is never an easy one to make," said Captain Cynthia Stowe, Sector San Francisco commanding officer. "The Coast Guard extends our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the lost crewmen and the deceased. They will all be in our thoughts and prayers."