The U.S. Coast Guard is suspending a dayslong search for a boat carrying about 20 people that went missing en route from the Bahamas to Florida.
The blue and white 29-foot Mako Cuddy Cabin vessel departed from Bimini on Monday and was set to arrive at Lake Worth, although it never showed up, according to the Coast Guard. It was reported missing on Tuesday, and a large-scale search began. The search was suspended at about noon on Friday.
Authorities spent 84 hours searching about 17,000 square miles of sea, a size about double that of Massachusetts. Few details are known about who was on the vessel or why it was traveling from the Bahamas to Florida.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the missing people,” said Capt. Stephen Burdian, the chief of response for the Seventh District. “I encourage anyone with information about the people aboard to contact us as soon as possible.”
Petty Officer Third Class Jose Hernandez said Saturday that a family member of someone aboard the vessel first alerted authorities when they didn’t receive a call that the boat had arrived in Florida, according to the New York Times. He also said that the search may resume if information comes to light.
“Anytime we have to call off a suspension, it’s not an easy call,” Hernandez said, adding that “the suspension just means that we’re focusing on other cases until we do get more information, then we’ll search for this particular vessel and people.”
In the past, boats carrying migrants from all over the world have been discovered making the relatively short jaunt from the Bahamas to Florida, although authorities have not said if they suspect that was the case in this instance.
