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Search Halted for 3 Americans Missing Off the Mexican Coast

Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross, who were sailing aboard the Ocean Bound, were last heard from near Mazatlán, Mexico, on April 4.

By Johnny Diaz

The search for three Americans who were reported missing two weeks ago, after sailing off the coast of Mexico to California, has been called off, the authorities in both countries said.

The U.S. Coast Guard in Alameda, Calif., said on Wednesday that the Mexican Navy, known as SEMAR, had informed the agency that it had suspended its search for the three people after an effort of a cumulative 281 hours covering just over 200,000 square nautical miles.

The missing people, a woman and two men identified as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross, were sailing aboard the Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte sailboat. They were last heard from on April 4, when they were near Mazatlán, Mexico, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The three travelers had left Mazatlán on their way to San Diego, and they were scheduled to stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on April 6 to resupply the boat with provisions, according to the Coast Guard.

“However, they did not report in or arrive in Cabo San Lucas,” the Coast Guard said.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard shared information and photos of the missing sailors and the vessel.

The Coast Guard said that the search encompassed “an area larger than the state of California” off Mexico’s northern Pacific Coast, but that there were no signs of the missing boat or its passengers. The Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy worked together in coordinating and conducting the search.

As part of the effort, marine broadcasts were dispatched over VHF radio, but they did not yield any clues about the location of the missing travelers.

“An exhaustive search was conducted by our international search-and-rescue partner, Mexico, with the U.S. Coast Guard and Canada providing additional search assets,” Cmdr. Gregory Higgins, command center chief of Coast Guard District 11, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we found no evidence of the three Americans’ whereabouts or what might have happened.”

He added that “our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends” of the three sailors.

After the suspension of the search, Heather Alcazar, one of Mr. Gross’s daughters, said on Thursday that “although this was devastating news for our families, we support the decision of SEMAR and the U.S.C.G.”

Ms. Alcazar said her father, 71, is a San Diego resident.

“Knowing that our family members have been part of a multinational search is not something we take for granted,” Ms. Alcazar said. “It shows the kind of commitment and cooperation we will all praise in the years to come.”

“Ocean Bound and her crew are missing,” she added, “but they will not be forgotten.”

Ms. O’Brien’s mother, Ellen Argall, said on Friday that her daughter, who is 52, and Frank O’Brien have been married for 18 years, and that both are licensed boat captains who have sailed for nearly 20 years. The couple , who live in Girdwood, Alaska, had invited their friend Mr. Gross to join them on the trip, Ms. Argall said.

“I was devastated but I understand,” she said of the suspension of the search. “I still have a glimmer of hope. I am not going to lose my little glimmer of hope.”

Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. More about Johnny Diaz

Search underway for 3 Americans who were to sail from Mexico more than a week ago

SAN DIEGO — A search is underway after three Americans who were to set sail for the U.S. from Mazatlán, Mexico, and haven't been seen or heard from in more than 10 days.

Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross reportedly left April 4, and intended to make a provisions stop in Cabo San Lucas, roughly 200 nautical miles across the Sea of Cortez, on April 6 before heading to San Diego, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

"However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location," the Coast Guard said in a statement Friday.

Gross' daughter, Melissa Spicuzza, said the O'Briens invited her father to sail with them and he jumped at the chance because he loves being on the water, according to NBC San Diego. She said her father lives on a boat on San Diego Bay.

Each missing American, Spicuzza said, has decades of sailing experience, and the O'Briens have Coast Guard captain's licenses, required for voyages with paying passengers.

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

The Mexican navy was leading the search for the three, and the Coast Guard was helping, the U.S. military branch said.

Searchers have contacted marinas in Baja, Mexico, but no one has reported seeing the trio's boat, a LaFitte model 44 sailing yacht, the Coast Guard said.

Urgent marine broadcasts via VHF radio have so far turned up no reports of the sailors or the 44-foot vessel, the Ocean Bound, it said.

The model was sold in the 1970s and 1980s by LaFitte Yachts Inc. of Newport Beach. The company said it was conceived by noted yacht designer Robert Perry as "the ultimate cruising yacht hull," according to marketing material from the time.

The National Weather Service reported that seas along the Baja coast Saturday included waves as high as 10 feet.

Anyone with information on the trio's whereabouts or that of the vessel is asked to contact the Coast Guard.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

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Mexico, US searching for 3 missing Americans in Pacific

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican navy is searching with the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard for three U.S. men who went missing early this month while sailing in the Pacific near Mazatlan in western Mexico, authorities said.

The Secretariat of the Navy confirmed Saturday that elements of Mexico’s navy are participating in the search.

The men — identified as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross — were on the 44-foot sailboat Ocean Bound when they were last heard from on April 4, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement issued Friday.

No information was given on the men’s hometowns.

The trio had planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula April 6 to take on supplies and report before continuing their voyage to San Diego, the statement said.

But “there was no record of their arrival in Cabo San Lucas, nor a report of their location,” the Coast Guard said.

Coordinators of the search have contacted marinas in Baja California, but there were no reports of sightings of the vessel, the statement said.

A massive search for 3 missing American sailors off Mexico coast has been called off

The search for three Americans missing along with their sailboat off Mexico's northern Pacific coast since April 4 has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

In a news release Wednesday, the agency said the search was suspended pending "further developments" after SEMAR — the Mexican navy — and the Coast Guard spent roughly 280 hours searching Mexico's northern Pacific coast.

After searching nearly 200,000 square miles with no sign of the missing passengers and the missing sailing vessel, officials suspended the search.

"SEMAR and U.S. Coast Guard assets worked hand-in-hand for all aspects of the case. Unfortunately, we found no evidence of the three Americans' whereabouts or what might have happened," Coast Guard Cmdr. Gregory Higgins said.

The three sailors — identified as Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien and William Gross — reportedly left Mazatlán, a city on Mexico's west coast, aboard a 44-foot boat named Ocean Bound on April 4 and were headed to San Diego.

They planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas — roughly 224 miles from Mazatlán — on April 6 to report in before they continued their trip, the Coast Guard said. However, there was no record of the three mariners arriving in Cabo San Lucas nor a check-in of their location.

In an interview with San Diego TV station NBC 7 , the family of William Gross told the station they have not lost hope and that he and his sailing companions will be found.

"Our hope is for our Dad, and Kerry and Frank to be sailing into port soon, tired and sore, but safe," the Gross family said in a statement to the station. "And our hearts certainly go out to the other two families who are being equally impacted during this extremely difficult time."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Watch CBS News

Search suspended for 3 U.S. sailors missing off Mexican coast

April 19, 2023 / 9:54 PM EDT / CBS News

The search for three Americans who went missing earlier this month while sailing off the coast of Mexico has been suspended, authorities said Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that it was informed by the Mexican Navy that it had suspended its search for Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien and William Gross. The Coast Guard had been assisting in the search effort.  

The three were last heard from on April 4 near Mazatlán, Mexico, according to the Coast Guard. They had been sailing aboard the "Ocean Bound" a 44-foot Lafitte sailboat.

The sailors had left Mazatlán en route to San Diego, the Coast Guard said, and had been scheduled to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6, but they never arrived. Their last known communication came April 4, when they made calls requesting a stop in Cabo San Lucas for food and fuel.

The Coast Guard said Wednesday that its joint search effort with the Mexican Navy consisted of a cumulative 281 search hours, and covered just over 200,000 square nautical miles.

The search focused on Mexico's northern Pacific coast, and resulted in no sign of either the missing sailors or their sailboat, the Coast Guard said. 

Kerry and Frank O'Brien are a married couple. Kerry's mother, Ellen Argall, told CBS News earlier this week that her daughter and son-in-law have sailed together for nearly 20 years and are both licensed boat captains. They asked Gross, who had 50 years of experience, to journey with them. 

"It's agony, pure agony," Argall said. "I've been trying to hold myself together."

There were reports of poor weather conditions the day they departed Mazatlán, the Coast Guard had said, and Ocean Bound's navigational equipment was older. 

"It's a long trip for even in good conditions," a Coast Guard spokesperson told CBS News.   

— Elise Preston contributed to this report. 

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U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican navy are searching for 3 missing American sailors

Juliana Kim

The three American sailors were expected to stop in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico's Baja California before returning to the United States. Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The three American sailors were expected to stop in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico's Baja California before returning to the United States.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican navy are searching for three American sailors who went missing over 10 days ago in Mexico.

The three sailors — identified as Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien and William Gross — reportedly left Mazatlán, a city near Mexico's west coast, aboard a 44-foot boat named Ocean Bound on April 4 and were headed to San Diego.

UPDATE: A massive search for 3 missing American sailors off Mexico coast has been called off

According to the Coast Guard, the three mariners planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas, about 224 miles from Mazatlán, on April 6 to report in before they continued their trip.

"However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location," the Coast Guard said in a statement on Friday.

The Mexican Navy, with the assistance of the #USCG , is searching for three American sailors, last heard from April 4, near Mazatlan, MX. en route to San Diego. Kerry and Frank O'Brien and William Gross were sailing aboard the 44-foot S/V Ocean Bound. https://t.co/0bzFQVsYC3 pic.twitter.com/GCcbGBvkQH — USCGNorCal (@USCGNorCal) April 15, 2023

Search-and-rescue coordinators, who reached out to marinas near Cabo San Lucas, have not received any sightings of the boat, the Coast Guard added.

Federal authorities are working with the Mexican navy to locate the three sailors.

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Husband and wife among 3 missing American sailors off the coast of Mexico

The Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are scouring a 2,500-mile area at sea in search of a married couple and another sailor who have been missing for 13 days since setting sail from Mexico en route to San Diego.

Husband and wife Frank and Kerry O'Brien and their friend, William Gross, have not been seen since April 4, when they set sail from the Mexican port city of Mazatlán.

The trio planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas for supplies on April 6, but the Coast Guard said there's no record of them arriving.

"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 correspondent Miguel Almaguer on TODAY on April 17.

Coast Guard officials don't believe the group had enough fuel or food on board for 13 days at sea, which is why they and the Mexican Navy are aggressively pursuing the search and rescue.

All three are experienced sailors, and the O'Briens are even licensed Coast Guard captains.

"We’re pleading for anyone out there to be on the lookout," Ellen Argall, Kerry O'Brien's mother, told Almaguer. "We miss you so much and love you so much. We just want you to come home."

The group was traveling on the O'Brien's 44-foot sailing vessel, the "Ocean Bound," with minimal technology on board. They may have encountered winds over 30 knots and 20-foot waves, according to the Coast Guard.

Their disappearance comes about a month after four Americans were kidnapped and two of them killed, likely by drug cartels in the Mexican border town of Matamoros.

The three missing sailors left from a "do not travel" zone in the Sinaloa state in Mexico.

“Hopefully someone sees them and gets them to make contact or relay on some messages out there," Gross' daughter, Melissa Spicuzza, said on TODAY.

Scott Stump is a trending reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY (which you should subscribe to here! ) that brings the day's news, health tips, parenting stories, recipes and a daily delight right to your inbox. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.com since 2011, producing features and news for pop culture, parents, politics, health, style, food and pretty much everything else. 

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Search ends for 3 Americans on sailboat that went missing off Mexico

Three reportedly experienced sailors were traveling to San Diego on a 44-foot boat

The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy have given up their search for three Americans who went missing while traveling by sailboat off the Pacific coast of Mexico, American officials said Wednesday.

The sailors were last heard from nearly two weeks ago after reportedly departing Mazatlán in Sinaloa state.

In a news release, the U.S. Coast Guard said the search spanned over 280 hours and covered more than 200,000 square nautical miles. There was no sign of the ship or its crew.

“This is a reminder for mariners of the importance of providing a person ashore with your float plan which in this case allowed the U.S Coast Guard to be notified when the missing sailors did not check in with family,” the military branch said in the news release.

“It also underscores the importance of carrying a registered 406MHZ electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) for automatic notification in emergencies.”

Sailboat crew rescued in Pacific after abandoning ship sunk by whale

Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard said it was aiding the Mexican Navy in the search for the 44-foot sailing vessel Ocean Bound, which was carrying Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross.

The trio reportedly left Mazatlán on April 4 on a trip that would end in San Diego. They planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6 to pick up supplies and check in.

“However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location,” a news release says.

Coast Guard chief petty officer Levi Read, with the District 11 public affairs office, told The Washington Post there was inclement weather at the time they were last heard from.

“Reports were that there were 30-knot winds and 15- to 20-foot swells, which is pretty rough,” he said. “There were other sailing vessels out there at that time that did fine. It wasn’t smooth.”

The Mexican Navy and Coast Guard supplied boats and planes to look for the missing boat, Read said.

Is it safe to travel to Mexico?

In interviews with “Good Morning America,” family members said the three sailors had significant experience.

“She’s a licensed captain by the United States Coast Guard and has got over 20 years of experience sailing, and her husband is not far behind her either,” said Mark Argall, Kerry O’Brien’s brother.

Melissa Spicuzza, Gross’s daughter, told the news program that her father had been sailing since the 1970s and is a mechanic by trade, “so he can fix anything.”

“I have not been out of contact with my father pretty much my entire life,” she said. “We are incredibly close.”

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Mexico calls off search for 3 missing Americans who were sailing to San Diego

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Mexico’s navy has suspended a search for three Americans who went missing along with their sailboat off Mexico’s northern Pacific coast, the U.S Coast Guard said Wednesday.

A Coast Guard statement said that Mexican forces and U.S. assets had searched about 200,000 square nautical miles, an area larger than California, and had found no sign of the boat or the missing Americans, who were heading to San Diego.

The three sailors — Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross — were aboard the 44-foot sailboat Ocean Bound when they were last heard from April 4, officials have said.

They reported being near the Pacific 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 proceeding to San Diego.

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

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Husband and wife among 3 missing American sailors off the coast of Mexico

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The Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are scouring a 2,500-mile area at sea in search of a married couple and another sailor who have been missing for 13 days since setting sail from Mexico en route to San Diego.

Husband and wife Frank and Kerry O'Brien and their friend, William Gross, have not been seen since April 4, when they set sail from the Mexican port city of Mazatlán.

The trio planned to stop in Cabo San Lucas for supplies on April 6, but the Coast Guard said there's no record of them arriving.

"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 correspondent Miguel Almaguer on TODAY on April 17.

The Mexican Navy, with the assistance of the #USCG , is searching for three American sailors, last heard from April 4, near Mazatlan, MX. en route to San Diego. Kerry and Frank O'Brien and William Gross were sailing aboard the 44-foot S/V Ocean Bound. https://t.co/0bzFQVsYC3 pic.twitter.com/GCcbGBvkQH — USCGNorCal (@USCGNorCal) April 15, 2023

Coast Guard officials don't believe the group had enough fuel or food on board for 13 days at sea, which is why they and the Mexican Navy are aggressively pursuing the search and rescue.

All three are experienced sailors, and the O'Briens are even licensed Coast Guard captains.

"We’re pleading for anyone out there to be on the lookout," Ellen Argall, Kerry O'Brien's mother, told Almaguer. "We miss you so much and love you so much. We just want you to come home."

The group was traveling on the O'Brien's 44-foot sailing vessel, the "Ocean Bound," with minimal technology on board. They may have encountered winds over 30 knots and 20-foot waves, according to the Coast Guard.

Their disappearance comes about a month after four Americans were kidnapped and two of them killed, likely by drug cartels in the Mexican border town of Matamoros.

The three missing sailors left from a "do not travel" zone in the Sinaloa state in Mexico.

“Hopefully someone sees them and gets them to make contact or relay on some messages out there," Gross' daughter, Melissa Spicuzza, said on TODAY.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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Three ‘experienced’ american sailors disappear while cruising mexico shore.

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Three experienced American sailors that were last seen cruising the Mexican coast have been missing for 11 days, the US Coast Guard said.

Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross left the resort town of Mazatlán on April 4 aboard the Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte, with plans to make one more stop on their journey to San Diego.

The sailors were due to arrive in Cabo San Lucas — a city on the bottom tip of the Baja California peninsula, roughly — 400 miles from Mazatlán just two days later.

“However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report of their location,” the military said.

Their cell phones last pinged off the coast of Mazatlán when they made calls to the Cabo San Lucas marina, likely in an attempt to make docking reservations, their families said in a joint statement.

The three are knowledgeable sailors with a collective 90 years of experience on the open waters. Kerry and Frank both hold Captain’s licenses with the US Coast Guard.

“Ocean Bound is a sturdy older vessel and by many accounts is one of the best sailboats ever constructed,” the families said.

“It can be argued that by today’s standards it is lacking technology. There is also an argument for these sailors who’ve been reading star charts and coastal navigation for most of their lives. Technology can fail simply due to one wire or a power outage. Their collective knowledge and experience will not fail.”

Cmdr. Greg Higgins, search mission coordinator for the US Coast Guard, told CNN that the weather was less than ideal when the group 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.

“It’s a long trip for even in good conditions, from Mazatlán to Cabo. That’s two days, and certainly on to San Diego, which was their eventual destination. And since then it has improved marginally.”

The Mexican Navy is helping the Coast Guard search for the missing sailors, and both have alerted other boaters to keep an eye out for the Ocean Bound and its occupants.

The agencies have widened their search parameters to a “drift projection” in case the sailboat became disabled and is being swept by the waves, and the families are asking boaters as far as South America to be on the lookout.

The Coast Guard is also following a “travel projection” that the Ocean Bound may have followed if the sailors simply lost their radio contact and continued their journey to California.

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Missing American Sailing Couple Is 'Presumed' Dead After Boat Found Ransacked in Caribbean: Police

Three men who allegedly escaped jail in Grenada and hijacked the couple’s yacht to sail to St. Vincent have each pleaded guilty to four immigration-related charges

Jessica Mause/GoFundMe

An American couple who'd been sailing in the Caribbean and have been missing for more than a week are presumed dead, though their bodies have not been recovered, authorities said in a Monday press conference .

“Based on the investigation thus far it is presumed Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel are deceased," Junior Simmons of the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said at the press conference.

Simmons also announced that three inmates who broke out of jail around the same time the couple vanished and allegedly made their getaway in their yacht have been re-arrested and are cooperating in the case, according to authorities.

Authorities have recovered evidence "consistent with signs of violence" from the hijacked boat, said Simmons.

Kathy Brandel – a retired real estate agent who would have turned 71 Wednesday – and her husband, Ralph Hendry – a 66-year-old financial advisor who worked from their yacht – had been cruising in Grenada when they suddenly stopped communicating with family on Feb. 18, according to their sons, who have been in touch with PEOPLE since before landing in the Caribbean to search for their parents .

AP Photo/Kenton X. Chance

On Wednesday morning the couple’s SV Simplicity was reported abandoned in St. Vincent — 80 miles from where the couple had last been spotted — and with blood visible on the deck.

“The entire interior of the vessel and its decks were ransacked,” Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service Commanding Officer Deon Henry told the Saint Vincent police commissioner in a Feb. 21 internal memorandum obtained by PEOPLE.

Courtesy of Robert Osborn

Bob Osborn, the president of Salty Dawg Sailing Association, which included Brandel and Hendry among their members, said the couple’s disappearance was an anomaly.

“In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this,” Osborn previously told PEOPLE. “This is not common, but it’s also a very, very big deal.”

Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press via AP

An insider close to the investigation says Grenada – where the couple was last seen cruising – is typically safe but expressed concern that the public was not promptly notified about the Feb. 18 jailbreak. Both Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have a Level 1 travel advisory, the safest level.

Courtesy Nick Buro and Bryan Hendry

The three prison escapees allegedly fled their holding cell at the South St. George Police Station, hijacked the couple's nearby yacht, “disposed of the occupants” and sailed to Saint Vincent where they disembarked, Grenada's Police Commissioner Don McKenzie claimed at a press conference Monday morning.

Those men – Trevon Robertson, 19, Abita Stanislaus, 25, and Ron Mitchell, 30 – who were re-arrested in Saint Vincent Wednesday have not been formally charged in the couple’s disappearance.

Royal Grenada Police Force

However, Simmons said Monday afternoon that the three men had already pleaded guilty to four counts of immigration-related charges connected to illegally entering Saint Vincent by boat. They are scheduled for sentencing on March 4.

The escapees had previously been arrested in connection with a violent robbery in December, Grenada's police force said in a press release last week. 

Mitchell – who worked as a sailor – was also previously charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape, two counts of indecent assault, and causing harm.

A source close to the investigation previously told PEOPLE Friday that two of the men had already confessed to killing the couple.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE' s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

A fourth prisoner escaped from the Grenville Magistrate Court last Wednesday, according to police.

Levon Date – charged in the killing of a Canadian citizen in 2023 – escaped the courthouse after pushing past police officers during a requested bathroom break, Grenada's police force alleged at the press conference.

As of Monday morning, Date remains on the run. Police say the escapee should be considered armed and dangerous.

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Woman dies after sailboat capsizes in Lake Michigan in Winnetka

The boat launched from evanston and capsized in lake michigan sunday, according to winnetka officials, published june 17, 2024 • updated on june 18, 2024 at 1:36 pm.

Editor's Note: The who died in the incident has been identified. Our latest story can be found here . Our original story continues below.

A 50-year-old woman who went missing after a sailboat capsized along the North Shore of Lake Michigan was pulled from the water and pronounced dead Monday morning, the Chicago Fire Department confirmed.

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The update comes hours after officials in suburban Winnetka at Tower Road Beach were performing a search and rescue mission looking for the missing boater.

Officials at 2 a.m. Monday became aware of the missing woman from a capsized 12-foot sailboat when the boat's other passenger made it to shore after swimming approximately two miles.

A search and rescue mission was immediately implemented, with the Winnetka Fire Department working with neighboring municipalities and the Coast Guard to help locate the missing swimmer, officials said.

According to authorities, multiple boats, drones and helicopters were used during the mission.

In an update Monday, Coast Guard officials said a body was pulled from the water early that morning. The victim was transported to Chicago's Montrose Harbor, officials added, with the harbor being the "closest location the Coast Guard's 45-foot boat can offload the patient."

Upon being transported, the victim was listed in critical condition. Later Monday, CFD said the victim was pronounced deceased upon being brought into Montrose Harbor.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the boat launched from Evanston and capsized at dusk, the village of Winnetka said. Both passengers were wearing life preservers, officials said.

The sailboat, which capsized at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, was located two to three miles from shore, officials added.

Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.

The mission comes as dive teams continue to search for man who fell off a boat over the weekend in Lake Michigan's 'Playpen' in Chicago .

Later Monday afternoon, a 16-year-old died after a raft flipped over in Lake Michigan waters in Chicago , police said.

Air quality alert issued for Chicago; air quality ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups'

Chicago weather: Near-record warmth with temperatures feeling like 105; air quality alert issued

This article tagged under:.

• WEATHER ALERT Heat Advisory Full Story
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• missing swimmer

Body of missing boater found in Lake Michigan after small boat capsizes near Winnetka: fire dept.

WINNETKA, Ill. (WLS) -- Coverage of this story has moved here .

On Monday morning, the body of a woman was found in Lake Michigan after crews searched for hours after a boat capsized Sunday night.

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On Sunday, two women sailed from Evanston in a 12-foot sailboat, before it capsized at dusk.

Around 2 a.m. Monday, one of the women swam about two miles to the shore of Tower Road Beach asking for help, according to the fire department.

The woman told authorities the second woman, 50, was still missing.

The Winnetka Fire Department began a search and rescue mission shortly after the first woman was found.

After several hours of searching, the Coast Guard found the second victim's body around 7 a.m. about a mile off shore north of Winnetka. She was taken into Chicago's Montrose Harbor.

The Cook County Medical Examiner confirmed the woman's death. The victim's identity has not been released.

The sailboat was found about two to three miles off shore, according to the fire department.

This comes as crews searched for a man reportedly fell off a boat on Saturday afternoon near the enclosed boating area, also known as the "Playpen," close to downtown.

After about an hour of searching for the 58-year-old man on Saturday, crews called off the search for the night.

Divers were back on Sunday, but there was no word yet if anyone was found. The search was suspended once again.

READ ALSO | Crews resume recovery mission for man who fell off boat at Chicago 'Playpen': CFD

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Body of U.S. Tourist Found in Greek Isles. Search Continues for Other Missing U.S. Citizen and Two Europeans

T he second of two U.S. citizens to be reported as missing in the Greek Isles has been found dead. The man was last seen on Tuesday in Mathraki, a small island near the larger Greek island of Corfu. He was found dead on a beach on the island on Sunday. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed. The Corfu medical examiner arrived at the scene later in the day, according to Corfu TV News.

In an email to TIME on Sunday evening, the U.S. State Department was able to confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Greece. Respecting the privacy of the deceased's family, they declined to provide further comment at this time.

Meanwhile, the search continues for retired U.S. police officer Albert Calibet, 59, who went missing on Tuesday after going on a solo hike on the Greek island of Amorgos.

When contacted by TIME in regards to Albert Calibet, a State Department spokesperson confirmed, in an emailed statement sent on Friday, that they were aware of reports of a missing U.S. person in Greece, and that they stood ready to provide assistance to U.S. citizens and families.

Another tourist, a 74-year old Dutch man, went missing on Sunday, June 9, on the Greek island of Samos, after hiking alone. His wife reported him missing on Sunday afternoon. Samos, like Symi where Mosley was found, lies close to the Turkish border. On Saturday, June 15, the tourist was found dead by a drone operated by local firefighters, according to local newspaper Samos Voice. and reported by the Associated Press .

TIME has reached out to Dutch authorities and local Samos officials for comment and further information.

Greece has been confronting intense heat waves, with temperatures exceeding 38C/100.4F. Popular tourist sites like Acropolis Hill, along with multiple schools and nurseries, closed mid-week due to high temperatures.  

The search team for U.S. tourist Calibet is made up of South Aegean Police Command officers, the Embassy, ​​Coast Guard volunteers, the Amorgos Volunteer Rescue Team, and a group from the Greek island of Paros, according to a Greek newsite . An aerial search was is also underway for Calibet. The tourist is “well-known on the island” due to numerous visits over the course of the past few years, Calliope Despotidi, the deputy mayor of Amorgos, told the Greek Reporter .

Authorities have been attempting to track Calibet’s phone, and are also using drones to help facilitate the search. Calibet was last in communication with his sister on Tuesday when he sent her a photo of a trail sign, per the Greek Reporter. He was reportedly supposed to meet with a friend between noon and 1 p.m. local time, but never showed up.

Officials believe that Calibet deviated from his original hiking route, which was expected to take a travel time of just over four hours. 

Calibet started working at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy in 1998, according to the Los Angeles Times. After his retirement, he worked at the department as a part-time employee.

Calibet disappeared shortly after British TV doctor Michael Mosley was found dead on the Greek island of Symi. Authorities said Mosley most likely died due to natural causes, though there are more reports to be done before the official cause of death can be determined.

In addition to the U.S. citizens discussed above, two French tourists were reported missing on Sikinos, a Cyclades island in the Aegean Sea, on Friday. Per AP, the two women, aged 73 and 64, " had left their respective hotels to meet ."

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Missing American tourist found dead on Greek island

An American tourist was found dead Sunday on a beach on the Greek Island of Mathraki, the latest in a series of foreign tourists found dead or reported missing in the scenic vacation paradise in the past week, authorities said.

The remains of the missing American were discovered at about 1:30 p.m. local time on a beach near the old port of Mathraki Island, the president of the community of Mathraki Island told ABC News.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

The man was last seen Tuesday at a tavern in Mathraki, west of Corfu Island, where he was staying with a Greek American friend, investigators told ABC News.

The friend called the police after he returned home Thursday and found the door of the house open, the lights on, and the air conditioning unit running, but there was no sign of the missing American or his identification and travel documents, according to investigators.

Mathraki has no police station or coast guard. Law enforcement officers from Corfu were called in to assist with the investigation.

A coroner was headed to the island Sunday to conduct a preliminary investigation, the president of Mathraki Island said. The body is expected to be taken to nearby Corfu Island, where an autopsy will be performed, officials said.

It's the second time in a week that an American tourist has been reported missing on the Greek Isles.

A search continued Sunday for a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who has been missing since Tuesday on the Greek Island of Amorgos, officials said. The retired deputy, identified by Greek authorities as 59-year-old Albert Calibet of Hermosa Beach, California, was reported missing when he failed to return from a hike, officials said.

Drone video obtained by ABC Los Angeles station KABC showed rescue crews searching the rocky terrain where they believed Calibet was hiking.

"We're sick to our stomachs, knowing he's out there somewhere," Calibet's girlfriend, Debbie Leshane, told KABC.

Leshane said Calibet called her just before leaving to go on a hike. She said they spoke for about six minutes and that Calibet later sent her a photo about 9:20 a.m. local time Tuesday from the trailhead sign. She said that was the last she heard from him.

On Saturday, a missing 74-year-old Dutch tourist was found dead on the eastern Greek island of Samos, according to The Associated Press .

The body of the Dutch tourist, whose name has not been released, was discovered by firefighters using a drone. He was found lying face down in a ravine 330 yards from the spot where he was last seen walking.

Officials said the Dutch tourist was reported by observers to be having some difficulty hiking in the triple-digit heat that has enveloped the islands.

Some of the five tourists missing or found dead were believed to be hiking in blistering temperatures.

On June 9, Dr. Michael Mosley, a noted British TV anchor and author, was found dead on the the island of Symi. A coroner concluded that he had died around June 5, shortly after going for a hike over treacherous, rocky terrain.

64 People Missing and Many Rescued From 2 Shipwrecks off Italy. at Least 11 Have Died

U.N. agencies say 64 people are missing after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea and several were rescued by the Italian coast guard

Valeria Ferraro

Some of the 11 migrants saved from the sea after their sailboat sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Greece early Monday, June 17, 2024, are assisted in Roccella Ionica, southern Italy where they were brought by the Italian Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Valeria Ferraro)

ROME (AP) — Sixty-four people were missing in the Mediterranean Sea and several were rescued after their ship wrecked off Italy's southern coast Monday, United Nations' agencies said in a statement.

In a separate shipwreck, rescue workers evacuated dozens of suspected migrants but found 10 bodies trapped below the deck of a wooden boat off Italy’s tiny Lampedusa island, the German aid group Resqship wrote on Monday on the X social media platform.

The boat that wrecked about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Calabria had set off from Turkey eight days earlier, but caught fire and overturned, the U.N. agencies said, citing survivors.

The search-and-rescue operation started following a mayday call by a French boat, the Italian coast guard said in a statement. The boat was sailing in a border area where Greece and Italy carry out search-and-rescue operations. The survivors and people still missing at sea came from Iran, Syria and Iraq, the U.N. agencies said.

The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center immediately diverted two merchant vessels sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue. Assets from the European border and coast guard agency Frontex also helped.

The survivors were brought to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel. One of the 11 rescued migrants died soon after, the coast guard said.

In the second shipwreck, the crew aboard Resqship’s boat, the Nadir, found 61 people on the wooden boat, which was full of water.

"Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious,” it added. “The 10 dead were in the flooded lower deck of the boat.”

Follow AP's global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Italian Coast Guard searches missing migrants after shipwreck: 12 rescued, 1 dead

U.N. agencies say 64 people are missing after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea and several were rescued by the Italian coast guard

ROME -- Sixty-four people were missing in the Mediterranean Sea and several were rescued after their ship wrecked off Italy's southern coast Monday, United Nations' agencies said in a statement.

In a separate shipwreck, rescue workers evacuated dozens of suspected migrants but found 10 bodies trapped below the deck of a wooden boat off Italy’s tiny Lampedusa island, the German aid group Resqship wrote on Monday on the X social media platform.

The boat that wrecked about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Calabria had set off from Turkey eight days earlier, but caught fire and overturned, the U.N. agencies said, citing survivors.

The search-and-rescue operation started following a mayday call by a French boat, the Italian coast guard said in a statement. The boat was sailing in a border area where Greece and Italy carry out search-and-rescue operations. The survivors and people still missing at sea came from Iran, Syria and Iraq, the U.N. agencies said.

The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center immediately diverted two merchant vessels sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue. Assets from the European border and coast guard agency Frontex also helped.

The survivors were brought to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel. One of the 11 rescued migrants died soon after, the coast guard said.

In the second shipwreck, the crew aboard Resqship’s boat, the Nadir, found 61 people on the wooden boat, which was full of water.

"Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious,” it added. “The 10 dead were in the flooded lower deck of the boat.”

Follow AP's global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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Russian Flotilla Off Florida Coast Sparks Deployment of US Navy Destroyers, Planes

The Pentagon deployed three Navy destroyers and maritime patrol aircraft this week to keep tabs on a group of Russian ships that conducted missile exercises and reportedly got within 30 miles of the Florida coast.

"In accordance with standard procedure, we've been actively monitoring the Russian ships as they transit the Atlantic Ocean within international waters," a defense official, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, told Military.com in an emailed statement Wednesday.

The official added that "air and maritime assets under U.S. Northern Command have conducted operations to ensure the defense of the United States and Canada," but wouldn't elaborate on what those assets were. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh also wasn't able to offer specifics at a briefing to reporters Wednesday.

Read Next: Lasting Grief but Few Answers: Families of Troops Killed in Osprey Crashes React to Hearing on Troubled Aircraft

In contrast, Russia has been very clear about what ships were deployed and what they were up to.

Russian state-run media announced last week that a group of four ships, including a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, would be making a port call in Havana between June 12 and June 17.

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in an online post that the ships conducted exercises in the use of "high-precision missile weapons in the Atlantic Ocean" and included video shot aboard the vessels.

"As part of the exercise, the crews of a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine practiced the use of high-precision missile weapons using computer-simulated naval targets that represent naval groups of a mock enemy and are located at a distance of over 600 kilometers," the statement said, while noting no missiles were launched.

The Pentagon would not say what U.S. assets were deployed in response to the Russian presence, but online amateur analysts used public flight and ship-tracking data to identify the three destroyers as the USS Truxtun, USS Donald Cook and USS Delbert D. Black on Tuesday.

They also identified U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft as part of the response.

The defense official who spoke with Military.com on Wednesday would go only so far as to say that the Navy's U.S. 2nd Fleet, U.S. 4th Fleet, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area and Canadian Joint Task Force Atlantic were all "conducting routine operations throughout the Atlantic, and we will continue to operate and engage from a position of strength."

A Defense Department photo of the Truxtun taken last week noted that the destroyer was sailing with the Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone -- two ships that online analysts also suspected to be responding to the Russians.

Online analysts also estimated that the Russian flotilla got within 25 miles of shore. The Miami Herald, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported that the ships sailed "less than 30 miles off South Florida's coast" on Tuesday.

According to images uploaded to sites such as Telegram by Russian state-run outlets, the Russian ships , including the frigate and the submarine, pulled into Havana on Wednesday.

Singh, the Pentagon spokeswoman, downplayed the presence of the flotilla by telling reporters that "we've seen them do this -- these type of port calls before -- and these are routine naval visits that we've seen under different administrations."

"We're always constantly going to monitor any foreign vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters ... but these exercises don't pose a threat to the United States," she added.

However, unlike prior port visits that involved less-advanced Russian vessels, the submarine and the frigate are some of the newest and most advanced Russian warships currently in that country's arsenal.

The frigate, the "Admiral Gorshkov," was commissioned in 2018.

Meanwhile, the submarine, the "Kazan," was commissioned in 2021 and is similar to U.S. guided-missile nuclear submarines, capable of carrying a range of anti-ship and land attack missiles, including the hypersonic "Zircon" anti-ship missile, according to an analysis by the U.K.-based think tank Royal United Services Institute , or RUSI.

RUSI's report noted that the Kazan has " a reported level of quietness comparable to the very best Western [nuclear submarines] and a long-range strike capability which exceeds that seen on most Western assets."

USNI News reported in 2014 that a U.S. Navy official in charge of its submarine program was so impressed with that class of Russian submarine that he had a model of the lead boat -- the Severodvinsk -- placed outside his office so that he could look at it daily.

The defense official who spoke with Military.com said that, while Russian naval visits to Cuba are routine, they have "ratcheted up because of U.S. support to Ukraine and exercise activity in support of our NATO allies."

"We should expect more of this activity going forward," the official added.

Related: Navy Relieved 12 Commanders in 6 Months -- Including 3 Firings that Were Never Publicly Announced

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