The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a crew member days after he was last seen on a ship in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Seaman Bryan K. Lee, 23, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., “was reported unaccounted for” on Tuesday morning, Feb. 4, while the Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) was operating in the eastern Pacific, the agency said in a news release on Monday, Feb. 10.
Lee was a crew member aboard the Cutter Waesche, which “was conducting a routine counter-drug patrol approximately 300 nautical miles south of Mexico” when Lee was discovered to be missing.
“The cutter immediately deviated from its patrol and initiated a comprehensive search effort,” the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard suspended its search for Lee on Saturday, Feb. 8. Crews spent nearly 190 hours searching for Lee, “covering more than 19,000 square nautical miles” in the process.
The Mexican Navy assisted the U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force with the search, according to officials.
Cmdr. David Stern, search and rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard District Eleven, offered condolences to Lee’s friends and family.
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He also thanked the crews who assisted with the search for scouring “a significant region of the Pacific Ocean” while looking for Lee.
“Considering all pertinent factors and available information, we made the difficult decision to suspend the search,” Stern said in a statement. “This case has been extraordinarily challenging, and the decision to suspend the search pending new information is not an easy choice.”
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