Search for 3 missing American sailors suspended in Mexico

The search for three missing American sailors who were last seen cruising off Mexico’s northern Pacific coast more than two weeks ago has been suspended by the Mexican navy, the US Coast Guard said.

“An exhaustive search was conducted by our international search and rescue partner, Mexico, with the US Coast Guard and Canada providing additional search assets,” Coast Guard Cmdr. Gregory Higgins said Wednesday in a statement.

The Coast Guard said that Mexican forces and US assets had spent a total of 281 hours searching about 200,000 square nautical miles — an area larger than California — but had found no sign of the missing people or the sailboat.

“Unfortunately, we found no evidence of the three Americans’ whereabouts or what might have happened,” Higgins said.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of William Gross, Kerry O’Brien and Frank O’Brien.”

The trio of sailors three were aboard the 44-foot fiberglass sailing vessel “Ocean Bound” when they were last heard from on April 4, officials have said.

They reported being near the Pacific coast port of Mazatlán, Mexico, at the time.

The three had planned to stop for supplies in Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula before sailing to San Diego.

The Coast Guard has said marinas in Baja California had not reported seeing the vessel.

All three Americans have been described as experienced sailors with a combined 90 years of experience on the open waters.

Kerry and Frank O’Brien, who are married, both hold Captain’s licenses with the US Coast Guard.

Gross, whom the pair hired to help navigate “Ocean Bound” from Mazatlán to San Diego, is a mechanic and a veteran sailor.

His daughter, Melissa Spicuzza, told ABC News that Gross’ friends would compare him to the TV character MacGyver due to his extraordinary ability to fix boats.

“Whatever it takes, he’ll get it rigged up. He’ll get it working,” Spicuzza said.

Cmdr. Higgins, search mission coordinator for the US Coast Guard, previously told CNN that the weather was rough when the O’Briens and Gross went missing.

“When they began their voyage we know that the conditions were not optimal for that type of trip, though certainly, there were sailing vessels out there during that time.

Winds potentially over 30 knots and seas 15 to 20, maybe more, feet at the time of their voyage,” Higgins said.

Spiccuza added that the sail from Mexico to California is always challenging and tiring because sailors are forced to battle against the wind and current, which requires a lot of maneuvering and skill.

To make matters worse, the trio’s boat, built some 35 years ago, lacks GPS tracking technology, and cell service in that part of Mexico is limited, leaving concerned family members to wonder what happened to their loved ones.

“It’s just been a roller coaster of emotions the last several days; I want my dad home, I want him safe, [and] I want the O’Brien’s home safe,” Spicuzza told ABC.