COAST GUARD CALLS OFF SEARCH

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search in the Gulf for a father and son from Rhode Island who disappeared after leaving Panama City two weeks ago. 81-year-old Gerald Cook, and 55-year-old Peter Cook, left Panama City on February 13th and were scheduled to arrive at Vero Beach on February 18^th. The Cooks were traveling with four of their dogs on a 52-foot yellow steel vessel called Rome. The Coast Guard said the search covered 142,657 square miles, an area almost the size of Montana, for more than 345 hours. Elisabeth Cook, the wife and mother of the missing boaters, said she last talked to her husband on February 13th, when they stopped at Port St. Joe, about 40 miles south of Panama City.