The mother of one of the three Americans who went missing off the coast of Mexico during a sailing trip earlier this month said her daughter and her husband were experienced sailors, according to reports Monday.
Ellen Argall, mother of Pennsylvania native Kerry O'Brien, said her daughter has had a love of the water her whole life and told a local CBS News outlet that she is confident her daughter is safe.
"I just keep hoping and praying that I'll hear some good news. I want good news, not bad news," she reportedly said.
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Though she added that waiting for news was "pure agony."
"I'm trying to hold myself together," Argall added.
Kerry and her husband, Frank O'Brien, departed with a third sailor Bill Gross on a 44-ft sailing vessel dubbed "Ocean Bound" on April 4 near Mazatlán, Mexico – roughly 220 miles east of Cabo San Lucas.
The trio planned to stop in Cabo on April 6 before continuing with their trip en route to San Diego.
"However, there was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report of their location," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Friday.
The search is ongoing with the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexico’s navy leading the charge along with hundreds of boaters in the area.
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Kerry, who lives in Alaska with her husband, graduated from a Murrysville High School in eastern Pittsburgh in 1989.
"She's always loved the water. As a child, she had a waterbed. She was on the two swim teams," her mother told the CBS Pittsburgh outlet.
Kerry reportedly began boating after meeting her husband Frank some 20 years ago.
The U.S. Coast Guard reportedly said that the sailors on "Ocean Bound" made contact a couple of times with docks in Cabo on April 6, but that their vessel never showed up. This was the last communication anyone has had with the crew.
"Search and rescue coordinators have contacted marinas throughout Baja, Mexico, with negative sightings of the vessel," the U.S. Coast Guard said.
"Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel."
Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
