REGION — A search continues today for three American citizens who were sailing from Mexico to San Diego but have been missing for more than a week.
Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross left Mazatlán, Mexico, on April 4 on the sailing vessel Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte, and had planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6 en route to San Diego, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
According to Levi Reed, a Coast Guard spokesperson, the missing sailors were facing inclement weather at the time they departed Mexico, with reports of 30-knot winds and 15- to 20-foot swells.
“Certainly not favorable but not necessarily treacherous conditions either,” Reed said.
Coast Guard officials said the group was planning to obtain provisions during the stop in Cabo San Lucas, but there is no record that they ever arrived.
The O’Briens are both experienced sailors and credentialed vessel captains living in Alaska. Gross also has many years of experience sailing. Since the search began, the Coast Guard alone has searched more than 2,500 square miles while assisting the Mexican Navy, the lead agency conducting the search.
The search has included various marinas throughout Baja California.
As of Monday morning, there has still been no sighting of the vessel or the sailors.
Anyone with information about the trio was asked to contact the Coast Guard at 510-437-3701.
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