The search for two fishermen whose boat was found washed up on the coast of Palos Verdes has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The two men, who have not been identified by authorities, have been missing since the Los Angeles County Fire Department received a call around 5 a.m. Tuesday saying they would be entering Cabrillo Beach around midnight after hoop fishing. But they never returned.
Their disappearance occurred during a high surf alert warning of waves up to 8 to 12 feet high and strong, dangerous currents along the Los Angeles County coast where they went missing.
KCALNews
Drones, boats and jet skis were used in the search effort that began around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and led to the discovery of their 25-foot boat, according to Jake Miller, an ocean lifeguard specialist with the fire department. It was found crashed and overturned in a rocky area beneath the cliffs between Bluff Cove and Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates, southern Los Angeles County.
These efforts continued through Wednesday morning. Subsequently, at 1:41 p.m., the Coast Guard announced in a message to X that the search had been suspended. Later Wednesday, a spokesperson for the federal agency said this halt in efforts is being called an “active suspension,” meaning the search will resume if there are reports of signs of distress, such as people waving for help.
The search is currently on hold as there are no such signs, according to the Coast Guard, while other boaters in the area are not responding to a UMIB or Urgent Mariners Information Broadcast. This alert sent to other boaters urges them to report if they see such signs of people in distress.
High surf warnings are in effect across much of California’s coastline this week, with beaches in Northern California pummeled by waves up to 30 to 30 feet high in areas including Monterey Bay, Big Sur and the North Bay coast . A person died in Santa Cruz County after becoming trapped under some debris washed up by a large wave, while another person went missing in Monterey County after being swept in by high surf.
