The desperate search for a San Diego uncle and his 12-year-old nephew has now stretched into its sixth day after the pair vanished during a fishing trip off Mexico’s Baja California coast.
Oscar Ulloa, 40, and Adrian Caro Villares, 12, set out from San Felipe early last Saturday for what relatives expected would be a brief outing on the water. The trip came as Tropical Storm Rachel bore down on the peninsula, bringing destructive winds and severe flooding that ultimately killed at least eight people across the region.
Mexican naval authorities have mounted an extensive air and sea operation in the Upper Gulf of California to locate the missing pair. Vice Admiral Juan Carlos Vera Minjares confirmed that six naval units, including coastal patrol boats and a specialized search aircraft, have covered more than 9,900 square nautical miles since the search began.
Search crews spotted a cooler and a life jacket floating in the water during the exhaustive sweep, though authorities have not confirmed whether the items came from Ulloa’s vessel.
The family has refused to wait passively for official rescue teams to deliver answers. Relatives hired a private aircraft to assist search efforts from above, adding their own resources to the government-led operation.
Alister Barradell, Ulloa’s cousin, has become a vocal advocate for the search, giving interviews to keep public attention on the case and urging anyone in the area to stay alert for signs of the missing boaters.
“It’s pretty scary and traumatizing to know there’s a kid with him lost at sea,” Barradell said San Diego.
The storm’s timing has left relatives grasping for explanations about what went wrong. Ulloa and his nephew departed before conditions deteriorated, but the weather turned rapidly as Rachel made landfall.
“During that time, the weather did turn bad, so we’re not sure if we had engine problems or something more catastrophic,” Barradell added.
The family has specifically appealed to fishermen and residents along the northern Sea of Cortez to report any possible sightings that could guide rescuers to the missing pair.
“We’re praying that he’s out there and we really want to reach out to anyone who has family in the northern Sea of Cortez that could keep an eye out,” Barradell said.
The search operation continues as relatives face the anguish of prolonged uncertainty, balancing hope against the harsh realities of exposure and the unforgiving marine environment.