2 adults, 2 kids missing off N. California coast

By The AP
Monday, February 25, 2013

MONTEREY, Calif. — The Coast Guard was searching today for four family members, including two children under 8, who reported in a series of broken distress calls the day before that their sailboat was sinking south of San Francisco, and they were trying to make a life raft out of a cooler and life preserver ring after being forced to abandon the vessel.

The group was approximately 65 miles off Monterey around 4:20 p.m. Sunday when their first distress call came in, Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert said.

Their location initially was reported farther north, but Lampert said investigators using the boat’s radio signal and radar now believe the call came in west of Monterey Bay, which is about 100 miles south of San Francisco. The boat did not have a working GPS system.

The boaters said their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and their electronics were failing.

An hour later, the family members reported they were forced to abandon the boat and were trying to fashion a makeshift life raft, Lampert said.