An update on the group of men who were lost at sea last week during a fishing trip in the Sea of Cortez... Unfortunately, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy have called off the search for the seven missing men, who are now presumed dead: US Coast Guard calls off search for 7 missing men.
The Coast Guard said it had used C-130 cargo planes and HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters to look for the men in a search that had covered more than 7,000 square miles.More here: Coast Guard ends search for missing California fishermen. The news came as a blow to the families of the missing men, but they're not giving up on finding them. They've set up a website to spread the word and coordinate further search efforts, even if they have to do it on their own. For more information on how you can help, go here: Find Our Fathers.
The seven California men were among 43 people aboard a 115-foot chartered fishing boat dubbed the Erik that left San Felipe on Mexico's Sea of Cortez on July 2.
The ship encountered a storm on its first night and sank in the early morning hours of July 3.
Thirty-five of the people aboard the boat swam to shore or were rescued, and Mexican police recovered the body of one passenger who died.
Search and rescue teams had continued to scour the Sea of Cortez for the remaining seven men, and at first officials expressed hope the sea's warm waters could allow for survival.
But the Coast Guard said on Tuesday that the Mexican Navy ended its rescue operation and was no longer requesting assistance from the Coast Guard.