Family Goes Missing in Pacific After SOS

Two adults and two children, both under age 8, are missing at sea off the San Francisco coast, the Coast Guard says. The family was in a 29-foot sailboat named Charm Blow when it started taking on water yesterday afternoon about 65 miles off the coast of Pillar Point. One person radioed the Coast Guard and said the electronics on the boat were failing, CNN reports; the AP adds that the vessel did not have a working GPS system.

About an hour after the initial call, the occupants—a couple, their 4-year-old child, and a cousin—said they were abandoning ship and the Coast Guard lost radio contact. The family had told the Coast Guard they were attempting to put together a life raft using a cooler and a life preserver. The Coast Guard searched for them through the night, and several other vessels and aircraft have joined to help. A warning had been issued for strong winds and rough seas in the area over the weekend. (More missing person stories.)