A family’s agonizing search for answers has entered its sixth day as a large-scale rescue operation works against time to find a San Diego uncle and his 12-year-old nephew, who disappeared off the coast of Baja California.
Oscar Ulloa, 40, and his nephew, Adrian Caro Villares, set out from San Felipe early Saturday for what was expected to be a fishing trip lasting only a few hours.
The two went missing as Tropical Storm Rachel battered the Baja California peninsula with powerful winds and widespread flooding. At least eight people in the region were killed by the storm’s impact.
No contact has been reported from either of them since they left.
“It’s pretty scary and traumatizing to know there’s a kid with him lost at sea,” Oscar Ulloa’s cousin, Alister Barradell, told NBC San Diego.
Barradell said the deteriorating conditions have left the family wondering whether the boat suffered engine trouble or something more serious. “During that time, the weather did turn bad, so we’re not sure if we had engine problems or something more catastrophic,” he said.
Mexican naval authorities and civil protection teams are conducting an extensive search across the Upper Gulf of California. Vice Admiral Juan Carlos Vera Minjares said six naval units, including coastal patrol boats and a specialized search aircraft, have covered more than 9,900 square nautical miles.
Crews reportedly found a cooler and a life jacket drifting in the sea during the search, but authorities have not confirmed whether either item came from the missing boat.
Hoping to help locate the pair, the family has hired a private aircraft to support the official teams from the air.
Relatives are also asking fishermen and residents throughout the northern Sea of Cortez to remain alert and report anything that could assist investigators.
“We’re praying that he’s out there and we really want to reach out to anyone who has family in the northern Sea of Cortez that could keep an eye out,” Barradell said.
The search operation is continuing.
