SAN FRANCISCO – The Coast Guard has ended its search for the missing sailboat and the two men aboard, after they were located in Santa Cruz, Calif. this evening.
The missing men called the harbormaster at 6:20 p.m., prior to entering the Santa Cruz harbor, to report their arrival. The harbormaster immediately contacted the Coast Guard.
The search for the overdue sailing vessel Joya, started early this afternoon after it was reported missing near Pillar Point, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco.
At 1:00 p.m., today, a crab fisherman reported the Joya overdue, after noticing the vessel did not return to its slip by dusk as usual. The sailing vessel Joya reportedly left Pillar Point Harbor at approximately 1:00 p.m., Wednesday. The captain, Steve Pruitt, 46, from Crescent City, Calif. and his crewmember Jacob Johnson, 31, of Crescent City, Calif., had not been heard from since. An MH-65 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco was launched at 1:50 p.m., today, and searched 30 miles of coastline from Point Montero to Point Ano Nuevo. A C-130 fixed wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento was diverted and searched between Point Arena to Morrow Bay.
