U.S. Coast Guard suspends search in Pacific Ocean for missing Sacramento County crew member
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for one of its crew members, a Sacramento County man who went missing two weeks ago after an extensive search that covered more than 19,000 square nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean.
Seaman Bryan K. Lee, 23, of Rancho Cordova had been onboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche that was conducting a routine counter-drug patrol about 300 nautical miles south of Mexico.
Lee was discovered unaccounted for at 6:45 a.m. on Feb. 4. The U.S. Coast Guard said the cutter immediately deviated from its patrol and launched a search for the missing crew member.
The Waesche’s crew searched for Lee for nearly 190 hours, which included the cutter’s embarked helicopter aircrew and an aerial drone, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft, a U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft, a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft and a Mexican Navy Maritime Patrol aircraft and an offshore patrol vehicle.
On Feb. 10, the search and rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard District 11 announced the search for Lee had been suspended.
“Our most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Seaman Lee,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. David Stern said in a news release. “Considering all pertinent factors and available information, we made the difficult decision to suspend the search. This case has been extraordinarily challenging, and the decision to suspend the search pending new information is not an easy choice.”
