SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Coast Guard rescue crews ended their search Friday evening for a 42-year-old man from Wash., who went missing Thursday morning from the cruise ship Eurodam, approximately 80 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Rico.

Still missing is passenger Jason Gregory Rappe, after more than 2,000 square miles were searched by multiple Coast Guard search and rescue crews as well as the Eurodam, over a 36-hour period, with no sights of Rappe.

“Having to suspend a search and rescue case is never easy, the aggressive efforts by our rescue crews to saturate the search area day and night were accomplished with the hopes of finding Rappe,” said Capt. Drew Pearson, Sector San Juan commander.  “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

The following units and crews assisted in the search:

    Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews
    An HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami
    A C-130 fixed-wing aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
    Coast Guard Cutter Decisive
    Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan received notification from the cruise line at 5 a.m. Thursday notifying the missing passenger had possibly gone overboard. The cruise line reported the wife of the missing passenger alerted the crew of the Eurodam of her husband’s disappearance.

The Coast Guard received notification from the Eurodam after an initial preliminary search of the ship located a baseball cap on the ship’s deck that was confirmed by the wife of the missing passenger as belonging to him.

Upon receiving notification, Sector San Juan watchstanders directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutters Nantucket and Decisive to search for the missing passenger.

The Nantucket is a 110-foot patrol boat currently homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while the Decisive is a 210-foot Medium Endurance Cutter homeported in Pascagoula, Miss.

Source: US Coast Guard