Search for missing U.S. balloonists called off

ROME – The Italian coast guard said Monday that it had called off the search for a pair of American balloonists who disappeared last week in the Adriatic Sea.

The search was called off after a final attempt to locate Richard Abruzzo, of Albuquerque, N.M., and Carol Rymer Davis, of Denver, had failed, said coast guard spokesman Lt. Massimo Maccheroni.

Maccheroni said that a robotic vehicle scanned the seabed of the Adriatic for any remains.

“We found nothing that could be traced to the balloonists,” he said.

The veteran pilots were flying in the 54th Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race when contact was lost Wednesday over the Adriatic Sea. Race organizers said the two plunged toward the water at 50 mph and likely didn’t survive.