Mexico and U.S. search for three American sailors last seen in Sinaloa

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Navy and the United States are searching for three American sailors who were last seen on April 4 in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The three sailors reportedly left the port city of Mazatlan en route to San Diego and were due to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6 for provisions and to report in, but they never made it.

“There was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement published late on Friday.

The Coast Guard appealed for information about the whereabouts of the three Americans, whose sailing vessel Ocean Bound was a 44-foot La Fitte, and identified them as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien, and William Gross.

“Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel,” the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The disappearance of the sailors comes about a month after the high-profile kidnapping of a group of Americans in the border town of Matamoros.

Two of the Americans were killed and two survived, while the drug gang believed to be behind the incident handed over five purported henchmen as a would-be apology for the abduction.

(Writing by Drazen Jorgic, Editing by Nick Zieminski)