Desperate search for San Diego boater and his 12-year-old nephew after disappearing during fishing trip

A family’s frantic wait for answers has stretched into its sixth day as a massive search-and-rescue operation races against time to locate a missing San Diego uncle and his 12-year-old nephew who disappeared off the coast of Baja California.

Oscar Ulloa, 40, and his young nephew, Adrian Caro Villares, headed out to sea off San Felipe early on Saturday morning for what was meant to be a few-hour fishing trip.

The pair vanished as Tropical Storm Rachel slammed into the Baja California peninsula, bringing destructive winds and severe flooding that killed at least eight people in the region.

Neither has been heard from since.

“It’s pretty scary and traumatizing to know there’s a kid with him lost at sea,” Mr Ulloa’s cousin, Alister Barradell, told NBC San Diego.

“During that time, the weather did turn bad, so we’re not sure if we had engine problems or something more catastrophic,” Barradell added.

Mexican naval authorities and civil protection units have launched a sweeping air and sea operation in the Upper Gulf of California. Vice Admiral Juan Carlos Vera Minjares confirmed that six naval units, including coastal patrol boats and a specialized search aircraft, had combed more than 9,900 square nautical miles.

During the exhaustive sweep, search crews reportedly spotted a cooler and a life jacket floating in the water, though authorities have not yet confirmed if the items belonged to the missing vessel.

Desperate for a breakthrough, the family has taken matters into their own hands, hiring a private aircraft to assist search teams from above.

Relatives are also pleading with local fishermen and residents in the northern Sea of Cortez to stay vigilant and report any sightings.

“We’re praying that he’s out there and we really want to reach out to anyone who has family in the northern Sea of Cortez that could keep an eye out,” Barradell said.

Search efforts remain ongoing.