The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday called off the search for two men who went missing early Tuesday morning while fishing in heavy surf off the Palos Verdes coast.
The wreckage of a boat believed to be theirs was discovered late Tuesday, but there was no sign of the men.
Tuesday’s search effort began early in the morning and included a helicopter, which arrived at the scene at 8:30 a.m., a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said, without specifying personnel.
Lt. Gov. Sondra Neen told City News Service. The men were scheduled to arrive near Cabrillo Marina.
The Coast Guard sent a boat to search the area, and aircraft later joined the search effort, Neen said. Other agencies were also using drones to search the waters.
Los Angeles County Fire Department crews began searching around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and found the boat stuck on rocks near the 1800 block of Paseo del Mar, but the men are still missing, the fire department said. announced.
The search resumed Wednesday morning. However, in an update at 1:41 p.m., the Coast Guard announced that the search had been called off due to “no signs of distress” and “no response to UMIB (emergency marine information broadcast).”
Officials warned the public to stay away from Southland beaches Tuesday and Wednesday due to large waves and dangerous rip currents.
The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory for Los Angeles County beaches until 9 p.m. Wednesday and for Orange County until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Forecasters said “large breaking waves” between 8 and 13 feet high were impacting west-facing coasts Tuesday morning. Those waves were expected to recede to about 6 to 10 feet, but still enough to pose a hazard.
