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Search Suspended For Missing Sailors In Deadly Farallones Yacht Crash

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for four sailors missing after a yacht struck the rocks near the Farallon Islands on Saturday during a race, and will not be resuming the search Monday.

The Coast Guard and Air National Guard searched an area of more than 5,000 square miles over a period of more than 30 hours following the fatal boating accident Saturday afternoon, Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield said. No sign of the missing sailors was spotted and no one was recovered.

"The Coast Guard would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of the missing," Critchfield said.

The Low Speed Chase, a 38-foot Sydney yacht, captained by James Bradford, was taking part in the 2012 Full Crew Farallones Race Saturday when it encountered a series of large waves near one of the Farallon Islands shortly before 3 p.m., according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read.

The boat rolled in the waves multiple times, throwing crewmembers into the water and running the vessel into the rocks.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

Bradford and two crew members - identified by yacht club officials as Tiburon resident Brian Chong and Nick Vos of Sonoma - were rescued by the Coast Guard and Air National Guard helicopters and boats Saturday.

A fourth sailor, 46-year-old Belvedere resident Marc Kasanin, was pulled from the water and pronounced dead.

Four other sailors—Alexis Busch of Larkspur, Alan Cahill of Tiburon, 25-year-old Kentfield resident Jordan Fromm and Elmer Morrissey of Ireland - remain missing, according to the San Francisco Yacht Club.

Alexis Busch And Nick Vos
Alexis Busch (l) remains missing after boyfriend Nick Vos was rescued from a yacht wreck near the Farallon Islands. (CBS)

Busch was the first batgirl in MLB history, according to San Francisco Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter. She was with the team from the 1999 season through 2002 -- suiting up at both Candlestick Park and what was then Pacific Bell Park.

She later studied stage management for theater at San Francisco State University and in 2008-09 studied sports management at the University of San Francisco.

Busch founded Lady Baseball, an organization based out of Marin County looking to put women's baseball on the map, according to its website.

Busch is the daughter of former Giants executive vice president Corey Busch, team president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement released Monday evening.

"A true baseball fan, she was a passionate and dedicated member of our organization and she will be deeply missed by the Giants family," Baer said.

The Giants honored the victims of Saturday's fatal yacht crash with a moment of silence before the singing of the National Anthem prior to Monday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kasanin was a local artist who was active throughout the community of Belvedere, the town's vice mayor Sandy Donnell said. His work was recently displayed at the Tiburon Art Festival.

"It's such a close community that it was felt by everybody," Donnell said of the accident. "He was very present throughout the community."

Kasanin had most recently served as a designer and artist for First Class Croatia, a property redevelopment company in Croatia, according to his LinkedIn page.

His activity in the community mirrored that of his mother, Anne, who has served on the town's planning commission and was once named citizen of the year, Donnell said.

More than 400 people attended a vigil that was held at the SFYC in Belvedere on Sunday night, according to the club.

"The yacht club itself is a very strong community," Donnell said. "The city is certainly willing to be of assistance."

Morrissey had been a fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for nearly a year after moving to the United States from Ireland.

Fromm was a marketing and business management student at Dominican University until 2011, according to his LinkedIn page.

The organizers of the America's Cup sailing race released a statement Monday on the yacht crash.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of the deceased," the statement read. "Our thanks go out to the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Guard for their valiant efforts at saving the surviving crew members. As sailors, we are all one family, and our hearts are with those affected and the San Francisco Yacht Club and its members, friends and family."

A Facebook page called In Memory of Low Speed Chase was created for people to share memories and photos of those involved in the wreck.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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