UPDATE: CNN is reporting that the Coast Guard has suspended the search because the incident is "possibly a hoax."
The Coast Guard has released audio of a mayday call in an effort to identify a family of four that went missing off the California coast when their sailboat began to sink.
According to a Coast Guard news release, two adults and two children were aboard a 29-foot sailboat when it started taking on water Sunday afternoon:
The vessel, possibly named Charmblow, was approximately 65 miles off the coast of Pillar Point, Calif., when they radioed Coast Guard Sector San Francisco at 4:20 p.m. They stated that they were taking on water and the vessel's electronics were failing. At 5:30 p.m. the vessel operator reported that they were abandoning the vessel, and the Coast Guard lost radio communications with them. The crew may have possibly made it into a make-shift liferaft.
The California Air National Guard is aiding the Coast Guard as the search for the missing boaters expands to Canada and Hawaii, according to KGO.
The audio of the mayday call can be heard in the KGO story I've posted up top.
The Coast Guard is urging anyone with any information regarding this case contact Coast Guard Sector San Francisco immediately at 415-399-3547.
