Family Vanishes While Sailing for Repairs

A father and his three teenage children are missing off the Gulf Coast of Florida along with the 29-foot sailboat they were taking to get repairs. The Coast Guard says the man set out from Sarasota around 7am Sunday, bound for Fort Myers, but WFLA and NBC News report he called his brother at 3pm to say "the sailboat was in 6-foot seas and he was attempting to survive with his children offshore of Englewood," which falls nearly midway between Sarasota and the family's destination. A relative alerted the Coast Guard Tuesday morning when the boat hadn't returned.

A plane and three boats searched off the coast of Florida on Tuesday night, but there was no sign of the family as of 5am EDT Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard, which is asking boaters "to keep a sharp lookout." WFLA identifies the teens as a 13-year-old son, 15-year-old son, and 17-year-old daughter, all of whom apparently live on the sailboat with their dad. The white, unnamed vessel reportedly has no radio, reports CBS News. (More Florida stories.)