Search for Missing Boaters Called Off : Sailing: A Coast Guard sweep finds no trace of an inflatable raft, which three Van Nuys residents may have used to flee burning yacht.

The hunt for three Van Nuys residents who may have abandoned a burning yacht between Long Beach and Catalina Island has been given up after two days of searching, Coast Guard officials said Monday.

Searchers believe that the boaters--a man, woman and young boy who the Coast Guard refused to identify because their families have not been notified--could have left the 65-foot Sundancer on an inflatable raft after radioing a call for help early Sunday.

A Coast Guard cutter and two aircraft searched from Catalina south to Oceanside, about 6,700 square miles in all, on Sunday and Monday, Chief Petty Officer Brandy Ian said. The searchers saw no sign of the yellow raft, she said.

Ian said the 27-foot raft was equipped with flares and an electronic signaling device. But no flares were spotted by rescuers and no transmission has been received from the raft’s emergency equipment, which was set to begin transmitting automatically with the craft’s inflation.

“All the information that we have does not warrant any further searching,” Lt. Chris MacMillian said late Monday.

The three missing boaters were described as a 45-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman friend and the man’s 8-year-old son. Ian said they had been headed from San Diego to Marina del Rey, the boat’s home port. The boat’s owner, Lloyd Conway, told Coast Guard officials that the craft had been due in port by 8 a.m. Sunday, Ian said.

At about 4 a.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the boat, but radio contact was lost before the caller could identify the vessel or describe its location. Rescue teams were directed to the burning boat a short time later when flames were sighted by the pilot of a helicopter making a medical flight to Catalina.

When rescuers arrived on the scene, the craft was burned to the waterline. Nearby in the water, rescuers found a charred dingy and an inflatable raft, but no survivors.

As investigators were attempting to trace the boat debris, Conway called to report his boat was late for arrival in Marina del Rey. “We asked what was on the boat and found out there was a second life raft,” Ian said.

The fire’s cause is not known.