USCG file photo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Coast Guard has stopped it’s search for two people who are home safely Saturday morning after being reported overdue Friday afternoon off the coast of St. Augustine, Fla.
Diana Motylkov, 44, and Pavel Motylkov, 49, from Jacksonville, moored their 30-foot vessel, Animal Control, in St. Augustine, Fla., Saturday at about 6:30 a.m.
Diana and Pavel departed from a marina in St. Augustine aboard their 30-foot vessel Animal Control, also called Ms. Linda, Sunday and told their babysitter they would be home in three or four days. When they still had not arrived home Friday the Coast Guard began an extensive, multi-asset search along the Florida and Georgia coast.
It was reported that the two people had last been spotted Monday by the fishing vessel Jodi Lynn about 55 miles east of St. Augustine. There had been no contact with Diana or Pavel until Saturday morning.
Involved in the search were:
- Three C-130 aircraft crews from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla.
- A Navy P-3 aircraft crew from Naval Air Station Jacksonville
- The crew of the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shrike, homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.
- Three Coast Guard Station small-boat crews from Coast Guard Station Mayport, Fla., Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon, Fla., and Coast Guard Station Brunswick, Ga.
Pavel reported that neither he nor Diana heard Coast Guard radio hails trying to contact their vessel, and was not aware they were being searched for.
The Coast Guard urges all mariners to file a float plan, which can be as simple as letting a friend or family member know where you will be going and when you plan on being home. It is also very important to continually monitor a VHF radio to maintain communication with other vessels and rescue crews in an emergency.
