Coast Guard ends search for missing boaters near Georgia coast
The search started after a boater found this capsized catamaran. (U.S. Coast Guard)
BRUNSWICK, Ga. - The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for two boaters who disappeared off the Georgia coast.
Officials say over the weekend a boater reported seeing a capsized 50-foot catamaran around 65 miles east of Brunswick, Georgia to the Coast Guard.
The two missing mariners have been identified as David Wickenden, 54, and Charles Andrade, 60.
Rescue crews searched by air and sea for the two men for more than three days.
"The decision to suspend a search is always difficult to make and never done lightly," said Cmdr. Jason Erickson, Coast Guard Sector Charleston search and rescue mission coordinator. "When we send our rescue crews out, it is with great hope we can bring people home safely. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the missing boaters during this incredibly difficult time."
The Coast Guard says their search area was about the size of Vermont.