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Search For Missing Mackinac Sailor Continues

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The search resumes for a missing sailor who fell overboard in the Race to Mackinac.

CBS 2's Vi Nguyen has the story.

The call for man overboard happened about 40 minutes after the team's boat began the race.

The missing sailor has more than a decade of offshore racing experience but organizers said they don't know what caused him to go overboard.

The Chicago Yacht Club identified the missing sailor as 53-year-old Jon Santarelli and a member of the Imedi racing team.

He and his crew members were competing in the 330 mile Race to Mackinac when he fell into the water. Emergency responders got the call Saturday afternoon around 2:40. It happened about five miles east of Navy Pier.

The U.S. Coast Guard spent nearly seven hours looking for the sailor using 20 boast and three helicopters. Some competitors suspended their race to help with the search. At this time organizers don't know if the weather had an impact.

"These sailors are trained. They've practiced man overboard. The conditions were not extremely challenging," said Jay Kehoe of the Chicago Yacht Club.

The Chicago Yacht Club said the search is now considered a recovery.

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