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."

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