3 American Sailors Missing Off Coast of Mexico

A search is underway for three Americans who have been missing at sea for 13 days now since setting sail from Mexico en route to San Diego.

Frank O'Brien and Kerry O'Brien — who are husband and wife — as well as their friend, William Gross, have not been seen or heard from since April 4, when the trio left Mazatlán, Mexico, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

A stop in Cabo San Lucas for supplies had been planned for April 6, authorities say, but their 44-foot sailing vessel was not recorded arriving. A report of their location hasn't been made either.

Now, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy are combing a 2,500-mile area at sea in hopes to track them down.

"Search and rescue coordinators have contacted marinas throughout Baja, Mexico, with negative sightings of the vessel," the Coast Guard states. "Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel."

Gross' daughter Melissa Spicuzza told NBC San Diego that the O'Brien family invited her father to join them at sea, with all three sailors having decades of experience and the O'Briens having Coast Guard captain's licenses.

"I'm just wanting my dad, my dad and the O'Briens, to roll back in and say, 'What's going on guys?'" she said.

"The last message I got from my dad was, 'We have a 9:30 departure today,' on Tuesday, April 4," Spicuzza added. "... We communicate constantly with family and friends. We have a Facebook group that we post to. We check in. If our sailing plan changes, we let people know."

The journey, in which the trio is traveling on a LaFitte model 44 sailing yacht, requires a 200-plus-mile sail across the southern Gulf of California, per ABC News. The sailboat itself features a single mast for sailing and an auxiliary motor, the publication reports, and is designed by Robert H. Perry Yacht Designers.

Kerry O'Brien's mother Ellen Argyle told local outlet KFMB that her daughter has "always loved the water" since she was a child, and has been sailing for about 20 years.

"They just keep hoping, hoping and praying that I'll hear some good news. I want good news, not bad news," Argyle said.

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Family members have said that hundreds of boats have been helping in the search, with sailors throughout Southern California offering assistance.

"There is no confirmation they had filled the vessel's fuel tanks, nor confirmation that they took on food and supplies," Coast Guard Commander Gregory Higgins told NBC News on the Today show Monday, adding that they don't believe the trio have enough fuel or food on board for 13 days at sea.

Those with any information on their whereabouts are encouraged to contact the U.S. Coast Guard's rescue coordination center.

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