Missing Sailors: Coast Guard Searching For PA Native, 2 Others

MAZATLAN, MEXICO — The Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy are searching for three American sailors, one a Pennsylvania native, who were last heard from on April 4 near Mazatlan.

Kerry O'Brien, her husband Frank O'Brien and a third sailor, William Gross, were aboard the Ocean Bound, a 44-foot La Fitte sailing boat, when they left Mazatlan en route to Cabo San Lucas and then San Diego.

But according to the Coast Guard, said there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report of their location.

Search and rescue coordinators have contacted marinas in Baja, Mexico, but there have been no reported sightings of the boat. Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued via radio o requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel.

Kerry O'Brien is a native of Murrysville, a suburb of Pittsburgh. She and her husband currently live in Alaska.

"Kerry, Frank and Bill are all experienced sailors,.Bill has over 50 years of sailing experience and is an extremely talented coastal cruiser. Kerry and Frank have 20 years sailing together and both hold Captains licenses with the U.S. Coast Guard," a joint social media post from the trio's families stated.

"Ocean Bound is a sturdy older vessel and by many accounts is one of the best sailboats ever constructed. It can be argued that by today's standards it is lacking technology. There is also an argument for these sailors who’ve been reading star charts and coastal navigation for most of their lives. Technology can fail simply due to one wire or a power outage.

"Their collective knowledge and experience will not fail."