Search for New Jersey Couple who disappeared on a Jet-ski in Barbados ends
The search for two vacationers who have gone missing off the coast of Barbados has been called off after U.S. officials said they would stop using aircraft to look for them
The Barbados Coast Guard announced on Sunday that the search for a New Jersey couple who disappeared in the sea near Barbados has ended after a weeklong search.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s press secretary Roy Morris announced the development after the United States said on Saturday that they would no longer use its aircraft to search for the couple, according to CNN.
READ MORE: American couple missing after jet skiing in Barbados
Oscar Suarez, 32 and Magdalena Devil, 25, were reportedly last seen on June 24 before they headed out to sea after renting the jet-ski at Holetown Beach on Monday around 2:30 p.m. The couple arrived on the island a few days before for a romantic vacation, PEOPLE reports.
The Police Marine Unit and Barbados Coast Guard began looking for Suarez and Devil when they did not return back to land after 20 minutes. They were both wearing life jackets.
Operators became concerned and contacted other operators in the surrounding area and began the search, police reports. Officials looked for the couple on the beach, at their hotel and searched out in sea for more than 600 miles.
Mottley met with family members of the couple to deliver the news and “express her sympathy.” She said that they are still hoping for a miracle.
“We need to literally ensure that we have exhausted every possible opportunity with respect to finding your relatives,” Mottley told reporters, referring to the couple’s family members.
Suarez’s mother Ninfra Urrutia, said that she has been reaching out to officials non-stop since she heard the news that her son was missing.
“I’ve been calling; I call and call the police, the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, they can’t provide me with any answers,” Urrutia said. They haven’t called me back to let me know what I need to do or find out what’s going on with my son.”
Suarez’s sister, Susanna Cruz on Wednesday posted a photo of the couple on Facebook to inform the public that she and her mother were traveling to the island.
“On behalf of my parents and siblings, thank you all for your support and prayers,” she wrote. “We still need them.”
