Oct 4, 2008 12:04 am US/Pacific
Calif. Reps' Brother Among 2 Missing Boaters
SAN PEDRO
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The Coast Guard Friday was searching for two missing boaters from Orange County.
AP
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Friday for two boaters -- including the brother of Southland congressional representatives Linda and Loretta Sanchez -- who were lost amid the wreckage of a vessel
discovered five miles off the coast of San Pedro.
The search began Thursday morning and covered more than 300 square miles south of the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles before being called off early Friday afternoon, said Coast Guard Capt. Paul Wiedenhoeft.
In a statement issued in Washington, the Democratic California representatives say a debris field found in the ocean contained fragments from the boat their brother was aboard with his girlfriend Penny Avila.
The sisters say they pray and hope that their brother and Avila are found alive and well.
The Coast Guard says 51-year-old Henry Sanchez and his 48-year-old girlfriend, both of Santa Ana, left Alamitos Bay near Long Beach late Wednesday or early Thursday en route to Santa Catalina Island and never arrived.
The debris was found by a passing boater about five miles south of the Los Angeles harbor entrance at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
There is an indication of a possible collision.
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Steve Hall says the couple were in a Bayliner pleasure boat. Investigators are working to identify a second vessel.
Loretta Sanchez represents the 47th District in Orange County.
Linda Sanchez represents the 39th District in Los Angeles County.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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