The Coast Guard reported this morning that it suspended the search for the boat in which a Puerto Rican couple would have been shipwrecked near Key West (Key West) in Florida, during the passage of hurricane Ian last Wednesday, September 28.
The search mission was notified on September 30, but since early Wednesday morning Betsy Morales Sotoa native of Camuy, and Omar Millet Torresfrom Bayamón, alerted the maritime security branch of the United States Armed Forces that they were facing anchoring and security problems on the boat, confirmed to The new day the daughter of Morales Soto, Daymara Johnstonin a previous interview.
The call was held at a time when the waves were getting worse and the winds were increasing due to the proximity of the category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
“Coast Guard teams have called off the search for Omar Millet Torres, Betsy Morales and their dog”reads a tweet posted this morning on the Coast Guard District 7 account.
At the time, the federal agency urged sailors near the area of the alleged shipwreck to call 1-305-292-8727 or send information through VHF channel 16, in case they spot any boat similar to the couple’s.
Johnston told this media today, Tuesday, that he appreciated the efforts made to share the news of the search and thus more people to join the mission, but requested space for his family before the Coast Guard determined to suspend the search.
The new day awaiting a call from the Coast Guard District 7 Public Affairs Office regarding this news.
Last Saturday, the agency assured that Coast Guard rescue vessels, MH-65 and MH-60 helicopters, as well as HC-144 and HC-130 aircraft participated in the search.
“These searches are always complicated, because the sea is very vast, it is a very large area, but mathematical computer models that indicate the current and the tide are used to assist in the search,” the Coast Guard stressed.
Ian made landfall at 3:05 pm on September 28 with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour on Cayo Costa Island, in Lee County, Florida.
It is the 17th force majeure hurricane (category 3 to 5 in the Saffir-Simpson wind scale) that makes landfall or passes within 60 statutory miles of Lee County, as long as records have been kept.
Likewise, it is the strongest hurricane to enter the west coast of Florida in recent historycorroborated by the hurricane trajectory files of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, in English).
The cyclone caused storm surges that exceeded 10 feet in height from the west coast to southwest Florida, including the keys where Morales Soto and Millet Torres would have disappeared.