With dangerous waves and high winds blowing across the Southern California coast, authorities have suspended their search for two men whose capsized boat washed up along the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The men went fishing aboard a small boat Monday afternoon, departing from San Pedro, according to a Coast Guard spokesperson.
At the time, meteorologists issued a small craft advisory, warning boaters in Los Angeles County that there could be waves up to 10 feet high.
When the men did not return, they were reported missing around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
About a half hour later, their overturned boat was discovered by passers-by along a strip of rocky shoreline in the Palos Verdes areas, the Coast Guard spokesman said. But the men were not on board.
The Coast Guard and several law enforcement agencies scoured the choppy waters with rescue boats, drones and helicopters, but had still not found the men as of Wednesday afternoon.
After more than 30 hours without receiving a distress call, the coast guard announced that it had suspended the search.
The boaters’ disappearance occurred over the course of a week when massive waves damaged the historic Santa Cruz Pier and a man died after being trapped by debris in the high waves of Monterey Bay.
Meteorologists said that in Los Angeles and Orange counties, waves would peak between 5 and 10 feet on Christmas Day. Waves of up to 15 feet are expected to last all week farther north in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
