(The following story by Ignacio Ibarra and Michael Marizco appeared in the Arizona Daily Star on October 30. One of the five missing men is Randy Howard, a member of BLE Division 28 in Tucson, Ariz.)
PUERTO PEÑASCO, Sonora — Mexican authorities found no sign Wednesday of five missing fishermen from Tucson, but were expecting to continue the search by land and sea today.
Meanwhile, a preliminary search of the catamaran carrying the men – found capsized on Tuesday – showed there were no life jackets aboard, giving rescuers hope the men survived.
“If they were using their life jackets, and if they had a means of getting water, perhaps we’ll find them still alive,” said Capt. Florentino Muñoz Medina, commander of the Mexican Navy detachment in Puerto Peñasco, about 60 miles south of the Arizona border.
“The best we can hope for is that they are
somewhere on land and that’s where we’ll find them,” he said.
Missing are: Mark Brinke, 47; Daryl Holland, 42; Carl Hopper, 42; Randy Howard, 47, and his son Joshua Howard, 21.
The five men had gone to Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, to go sport fishing Saturday morning and were expected back in port Saturday night. When they failed to return, Mexican officials began searching for the boat.
The capsized 24-foot boat was lost again for a short time Wednesday after first being sighted Tuesday, but by afternoon was on its way to Puertecitos, a coastal town on the Baja side of the Gulf of California. Authorities said they will perform a more thorough search there, opening hatches water pressure prevented them from opening at sea.
The Mexican Navy towed the boat to Puertecitos from the site where it was found, some 20 miles north of Isla Angel de la Guardia. The island is about about 80 miles southwest of Puerto Peñasco.
Crew members from the Mexican Navy searched the capsized vessel and found no evidence of the fishermen, officials said.
The same Mexican helicopter that located the boat Wednesday is assigned now to search the gulf coast of Baja California, from a point south of San Felipe east toward Puerto Peñasco to an area south of Puertecitos, Muñoz Medina said.
The Mexican Navy is also conducting a ground search of the Baja California area, he said.
A pre-dawn launch Wednesday by members of the Puerto Peñasco Port Authority and family members on a private 48-foot yacht volunteered for the search by a Gilbert man was called off because of high winds and strong waves.
By midafternoon, winds were about 15 mph, with 20 mph gusts. The conditions were similar to the weekend, when the men were reported missing, said Jose German Islada, a commander with the Mexican Maritime Guard in Puerto Peñasco.
German Islada said that although four days have passed, he is also hopeful that the men will be found alive. He cited a case last year in which several men were lost in the same area, surviving seven days at sea before being found by fishermen.
Steve Calvert, a Tucson business owner and pilot, flew his four-seat Cessna 182 to Rocky Point Wednesday to help look for the men.
Flying at 400 feet, Calvert searched the ocean and found the Mexican Navy towing the capsized boat. He estimated the boat was 67 miles out at sea.
He speculated the boat did not capsize unless it lost power, shortening the amount of time the men would have to stay afloat in the water.
Calvert said he didn’t know the men very well, but is acquainted with at least one of them.
“I hope someone would do the same for me,” he said, recounting the time he was stranded off San Carlos for 16 hours in a boat that lost power.
Spirits remained high Wednesday among relatives and friends gathered in Puerto Peñasco and helping in the search. The children of some of the missing men crowded into a small motorhome facing the coastline.
Chris Hopper, 20, and his wife, Lorraina, 22, came to Rocky Point Tuesday. Hopper said his father promised him a fishing trip in December.
“Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to do that when he gets back” he said, his eyes red but his voice steady. “Basically, who my dad is, I want to be just like him.”