Search for 2 people aboard sunken tugboat suspended

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Coast Guard has suspended a search for two people who were aboard a tugboat that sank in the Mississippi River.

A news release from the Coast Guard says the 66-foot motor vessel Ricky Robinson sank Friday on the river near Memphis, Tennessee.

Boats from the Memphis Police Department, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard and Tennessee’s wildlife agency searched 324 nautical miles of the river before the search was suspended Saturday.

Coast Guard Capt. Roxanne Tamez sent her condolences to the friends and family of the missing people, who were not immediately identified. The boat was owned by Wepfer Marine Inc.