April 27, 2009 — A search for a 45-year-old woman missing after a Sunday boating mishap was suspended Monday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
"Search efforts ended with negative findings for the woman," said Ricardo Castrodad, Coast Guard public relations specialist.
Coast Guard boat forces on St. Croix were initially notified of the incident by the V.I. Police Department at approximately 7 p.m. Sunday. The boaters were reportedly traveling aboard a 26-foot Mariner when they experienced engine problems before their vessel capsized and sank in waters northwest of Ruth Island, approximately 800 yards from the St. Croix shore. Two of the passengers were able to swim to shore and seek assistance from a local fisherman, who was able to get underway and rescue the third man from the water. The third man was taken to the Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix to receive medical care.
The woman, who was not wearing a life jacket, was last seen by one of the survivors swimming toward shore.
Coast Guard controllers immediately launched HH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Borinquen Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to initiate the search for the missing woman. Coast Guard rescue crews continued searching Monday with HH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Borinquen, a 25-foot response boat from Boat Forces Saint Croix, and a Coast Guard Auxiliary fixed-wing aircraft from Saint Thomas. Personnel from the V.I. Department of Natural Resources and VIPD on Saint Croix, searching with divers and Blue Lighting Strike Force Marine units, are actively involved in the search efforts on shore and in the water to find the missing woman.
"The boat went down to the west of that island, and that's where the search effort initiated," Castrodad said. "As the search continued, it spread to the waters south and southwest of St. Croix."
By the end of searching Monday, more than 600-square nautical miles had been covered, with no sign of the missing boater.
Castrodad did not have the names of the four boaters or the name of the boat. The missing woman was a St. Croix resident, he said, but beyond that could not give any information on the individuals involved.
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