Newport Beach Couple Missing

Thomas and Jackie Hawks promised to return a friend’s phone call after taking prospective buyers of their luxury boat on a cruise off Newport Beach.

It’s been almost four weeks, and that call never came.

“My gut tells me something is wrong,” said the older of their two sons, Ryan Hawks, 28, of San Diego.

“I know my parents very well. It’s super out of the ordinary for them not to keep in touch.”

The couple were reported missing by their families several days after they gave the Nov. 15 test ride aboard their 55-foot boat, Well Deserved.

The boat was returned to its dock near 15th Street that night, but neither the couple nor their car -- a silver 1998 Honda CRV with Arizona license plates -- have been seen since, police said.

The couple who bought the boat that evening were interviewed by police, are cooperating with the investigation and are not suspects, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

The Hawkses had been trying to sell their boat for more than $400,000 in order to buy a smaller boat and live in San Carlos, Mexico, their son said.

They sold their Prescott, Ariz., home four years ago to buy the lavish, larger boat and live on it as part of their new lifestyle, which was featured in a cruising magazine a year ago.

Thomas, 57, a retired Prescott County probation officer, and Jackie, 47, had met the buyers, who are in their mid-20s, at least once before to negotiate the deal, Ryan Hawks said.

The missing couple, who have been married 17 years, traveled extensively but had always kept in touch with family members and friends, using a satellite e-mail system when they were aboard the boat, Hawks said.

Newport Beach police said they did not suspect foul play but had contacted Mexican officials for assistance.

“We haven’t determined any crime, but their disappearance is suspicious,” said Shulman.

The missing couple have not used their cellphones, credit cards or bank accounts, Shulman said.

Friends and relatives have distributed missing-persons fliers that show the smiling couple holding their newborn grandson and standing aboard the vessel.

“They’re responsible, a detail-oriented couple,” said Dixie Hawks, the ex-wife of Thomas Hawks. “They just disappeared off the face of the earth, it seems like.”

Anyone with information is urged to call Newport Beach police at (800) 550-6273.