PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a missing sailboat and its four sailors with Rhode Island ties, saying an air and sea probe of an area larger than the size of Texas has shown neither debris, nor the large boat, a spokesman said Sunday.
The 54-foot Flying Colours disappeared Monday in rough seas off the coast of North Carolina, hours after sending an electronic distress signal.
U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force and units from the Rhode Island, New York, Georgia and North Carolina Air National Guard participated in the search that covered more than 282,000 square miles, Petty Officer Kip Wadlow said by telephone from Virginia.
“We did not see any debris from the Flying Colours, any large boat, anything of that nature and we haven’t received any reports from anybody who have,” Wadlow said. “That played a part in our decision to suspend the search.”
The Coast Guard, however, will investigate any lead or report on the Flying Colours or its crew, Wadlow said.
The missing sailors – Patrick Topping, 39; Jason Franks, 34; Rhiannon Borisoff, 22; and Christine Grinavic, 26 – were sailing the boat from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Annapolis, Md.
Some relatives, however, still hope for the best.
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