SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday it has suspended its search for the missing owner of a boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of Carlsbad.
USCG said crews were searching for the owner and resident of the vessel, Relentless, a 50-foot boat out of Oceanside that caught fire sometime Thursday morning.
Crews responded to the fire, but the vessel ultimately sank. Search crews covered more than 600 square miles over the course of 21 hours but did not locate the boat's owner.
RELATED: Fire erupts on 50-foot vessel off the coast of Carlsbad
It's still unclear how the fire began.
"This morning I made the decision to suspend the active search for survivors, which is always an extremely difficult one to make," said Cmdr. Joseph Parker, the Sector San Diego deputy commander. "The Coast Guard and our partners extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, who remain in our thoughts and prayers. I am indebted to our Coast Guard crews and mission partners; Oceanside Police Department and Encinitas Lifeguards, who always put forward maximum effort to save lives at sea."
Sky10 was in Carlsbad as crews responded:
Thursday, USCG, Encinitas Lifeguards, and Oceanside Police responded to reports of the boat fire about three and a half miles off the coast of Carlsbad. USCG cutters and a helicopter arrived to help extinguish the fire, but the boat suffered extensive damage and sunk in about 1,800 feet of water.
The USCG Cutter Haddock stayed at the scene throughout the night and a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter searched at first-light on Friday for about an hour.
