Coast Guard Suspends Search Off Maine; Mayday Call Was 'Probable Hoax'

ROCKLAND, Maine (CBS/AP) — Rescue crews looking for three people off the Maine coast after a fishing vessel began taking on water Thursday have suspended their search because a mayday call they received was a "probable hoax," the Coast Guard said.

Crews from Maine and Massachusetts responded to a mayday call placed at 6:30 a.m. about the vessel, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said. The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol were searching for the three people in the water just south of Spruce Head, Maine, the spokesperson said.

"We lost our rudder and we're taking on water fast," someone is heard saying in the recording released by the Coast Guard earlier.

But now it's believed that call was not legitimate.

"There are no indications of distress or missing persons in the area," the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard called off a search for four men last week after a vessel from Maine sank off Provincetown, Massachusetts. The cause of that sinking remains under investigation.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)