Search resumes for 4th crew member

SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard is set Sunday morning to resume an aerial search for a crew member who has been missing since a 37-foot sailboat was apparently struck by a larger vessel south of San Diego during an annual race from Newport Beach to Ensenada, Mexico, leaving three other people dead.

Three bodies were recovered Saturday near the Mexican-controlled Coronado Islands. The dead were taken to the San Diego County medical examiner for identification.

A Coast Guard cutter and a Mexican naval vessel searched through the night for the crew member of the sailboat Aegean. Debris was spotted in the water.

The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn., sponsor of the race, believes the Aegean was struck by a “much larger vessel” around 1:30 a.m. Saturday when its image disappeared from an online tracking system.

Weather was light during the race, with winds of only one to two knots, seemingly ruling out weather as a cause of the disappearance. A total of 213 boats were entered in the 65th annual race.

--Tony Perry in San Diego