Shrimp Boat Missing – USCG Search
Shrimp boat 'El Abuelo' reported missing in Gulf of Mexico, with two crewmembers
The Coast Guard is searching for two men who were reported missing, between Brownsville, Texas and Tampico, Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico.
Missing are Manuel Gallardo Castillo and Faulsto Gomez Jr.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi, Texas received a call from the agent of the shrimping vessel, El Abuelo, that the vessel had not arrived at its next port of call.
Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an HU-25 Falcon fixed-wing aircraft and crew to search along the intended track line of the vessel.
“The first phase of any search is information gathering,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn McGivern, command duty officer for the 8th Coast Guard District command center. “This helps us direct our efforts, our personnel and assets, so that we’re able to use them to the best of their abilities. In this case, we were pretty fortunate, because the men we’re searching for filed a float plan. This allows us a valuable piece of information that takes a lot of the guess work out of this phase of the search.”