The Coast Guard announced Thursday evening that the search for Isabella Hellmann of Delray Beach has been suspended.
The search was suspended at 8:45 p.m.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Ms. Hellmann in this difficult time," said Capt. Aldante Vinciguerra, chief of response for the Coast Guard Seventh District. "Suspending a search is never an easy call to make and was made with deep consideration in this tragic case."
Coast Guard cutters, airplanes and helicopters searched for Isabella, last seen by her husband on Sunday night.
The couple were aboard Hellmann's husband's 37-foot Catamaran boat, Surf in the Summer. Lewis Bennett told Coast Guard crews he was in the lower deck and he last saw his wife on the bridge keeping watch. Bennett said the boat hit an unknown object and started taking on water. He told the Coast Guard he could not find his wife and had to abandon the ship.
Watch standers with the Seventh Coast Guard District Command Center said they received an emergency position indicating a radio beacon alert at 1:30 a.m. Monday from a catamaran west of Cay Sal. Bennett was found on a life raft. Coast Guard crews found the partially sunken boat in the Florida Straits.
Hellmann was a realtor for Signature International Real Estate. Her boss, Ben Schachter, said she began her career with the company in February 2016. Schachter said the phone lines were ringing nonstop Monday as people called to send well wishes and ask about Hellmann.
Hellmann leaves a 9-month old daughter. The couple was not traveling with the baby. On Hellmann's Facebook page it says she left for the trip on April 29.
#BreakingNews@USCG suspended their search at 8:45 p.m. for a missing woman 30 mi W of Cay Sal, Bahamas. Read more https://t.co/c233DNDDVk
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) May 19, 2017
