Coast Guard officials are scratching their heads after ending a two-day search of the Northern California coast for a reportedly capsized boat that, so far, they are not sure ever existed.   

The two-day search for the boat off the Monterey coast near San Francisco was suspended on Tuesday with no signs of debris or any indication that an incident occurred, according to a Coast Guard spokesman.

An air and sea search over a 20,000-mile area of the Pacific Ocean began Sunday evening when a man placed a distress call around 4:20 p.m. saying his 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and having problems with its electronics. Also on board were the man’s wife, 4-year-old son and a young cousin, according to the caller.

About one hour after the initial call, the family of four declared they were abandoning ship.   

On Tuesday the Coast Guard released audio of the calls in hopes that a member of the public could identify the man’s voice. The gargled audio is difficult to make out, but officials believe the name of the boat is Charmblow.

"Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the (Charmblow), we are abandoning ship," the ship’s operator said in the faint audio.

Problem is, there is no registered owner to a boat by that name, the family has yet to be identified and no one in the area has been reported missing. Officials are not ruling out that the incident may have been a hoax.

And as the Coast Guard called back the patrol boats, planes and helicopters participating in the 42-hour search, officials were turning to the public for help.

“If anyone knows someone who owns a vessel with a similar sounding name, please let us know that,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike Lutz told NBC BayArea.

Lutz said the family did not have life rafts, but were trying to use coolers and other materials on the boat to use as a makeshift raft.

“Right now we’re asking the public if they know anyone, a friend a relative a neighbor who went out and hasn’t come back that they please call the Coast Guard,” said Lutz.

U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is asking members of the public to help identify the source of a debris field, which included this large portion of a vessel, spotted Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean about 22 miles east of Jacksonville.

The U.S. Coast Guard is trying to figure out what happened to a deceased man found floating in the Atlantic Ocean Sunday near the wreckage of a boat about 22 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla., according to authorities.

The search for potential survivors continued Monday, with Coast Guard boats on the scene gathering evidence and looking for other people who may have been on the boat, said Lt. Grant Johnson, a Coast Guard public affairs officer.

Investigators have not yet identified the boat and don't know where it came from or where it was headed, Johnson said.

Approximately 10 life jackets were found near the boat debris, but the Coast Guard has not found evidence that other people were on the boat.

"We're working under the assumption other people were on board," Johnson said. "We're going to err on the side of safety. With the lack of evidence we're inclined to continue searching until we know otherwise."

The Coast Guard found the man's passport and believe he is a 49-year-old who last lived in Miami, according to Johnson. His body was recovered and taken to the medical examiner's office in Jacksonville, Johnson said.

Officials declined to identify the man pending notification of his family. The Coast Guard is working with local law enforcement to find his family and figure out what may have happened to the boat.

The Coast Guard did not receive a distress call related to the vessel, two large pieces of which were found near the body, Johnson said.

The wreckage was first spotted around 6 p.m. Sunday evening by an aircrew from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Coast Guard searched through the night for survivors, with boats and aircraft involved in the operation. Bad weather in the Jacksonville area prevented Coast Guard aircraft from searching the debris field this morning, but three boats remained on the scene looking for survivors and gathering evidence, Johnson said.

U.S. Coast Guard via AP

This July 2, 2011 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows Richard Belisle, second from left, and Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins, second from right, with James Wells, left, and Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Beauford as they help erect a communications antenna on Shemya Island, Alaska. Belisle and Hopkins were slain in April 2012, and Wells reportedly has now been charged with their murders.

Authorities in Alaska have charged a suspect in the mysterious killing last year of two employees at a U.S. Coast Guard communications station in Kodiak, it was reported Friday.

NBC News’ Anchorage affiliate KTUU and the Anchorage Daily News both reported the charges Friday evening, citing a written statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The statement provided no detail on what led authorities to the suspect, identified as Kodiak resident James Michael Wells, KTUU reported. It simply said he had been charged with murder in the deaths of James Hopkins and Richard Belisle and is expected to appear in federal court in Anchorage next week.

Hopkins, a Coast Guard electrician's mate, and Belisle, a retired boatswain's mate and civilian employee, were found dead at the Coast Guard station on April 12, 2012.

KTUU reported in May that the FBI asked if anyone had seen two vehicles, a white 2002 Dodge Ram pick-up truck and a blue 2001 Honda CR-V. It said that vehicles matching the descriptions belonged to James and Nancy Wells of Bell Flats, a Kodiak Island town about 12 miles from downtown Kodiak, and that the FBI had searched the couple’s property.

Authorities declined to comment on the report. James Wells, a civilian rigger who worked alongside Belisle and Hopkins repairing antennas, told KTUU at the time. “It’s our policy not to talk to anybody.”

The communication station, which monitors May Day air and maritime traffic, is about two miles from the main Coast Guard base on Kodiak, an island about 250 miles southwest of Anchorage. About 6,300 people live in the island's main town of Kodiak, where the base is located. The base has about 1,000 Coast Guard personnel and several hundred civilian employees.

When Coast Guardsman Russell Matthews’ car was found by police abandoned at a Kaena Point parking lot in a remote area of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the fire department as well as the Coast Guard launched an all-out search.

U.S. Coast Guard

Petty Officer First Class Russell Matthews, 36.

Searchers scoured the north and south shores of the point. The fire department sent out helicopters and the Coast Guard deployed MH-65 Dolphin helicopters of its own. The Coast Guard Cutter Galveston Island, an HC-130 airplane and even a Navy P3 Orion aircraft joined in the effort for the missing 36-year-old man. Some 1,200 square miles of the tropical island and its surrounding waters were searched.

Police told a local TV station the aviation survival technician, a petty officer first class from Air Station Barbers Point, was emotionally distraught. 

On Sunday, the 15-year Coast Guard veteran and father of two showed up at his wife’s Oahu home after nearly four months away. But nobody was home.

Matthews was incoherent and taken to a hospital for observation, Honolulu police said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. And, as it turns out, Matthews was being investigated for illegal marijuana use at the time of his disappearance, Coast Guard spokesman Chief Warrant Officer Gene Maestas told the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Military investigators will talk to him when he gets out of the hospital.

Maestas has said the Coast Guard doesn't know where Matthews had been or what he'd been doing since his wife reported him missing Oct. 9, the AP reported. Coast Guard investigators confirmed his identity after he called his command from Castle Medical Center in the Honolulu suburb of Kailua.

He's now being evaluated at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, according to the AP.

Maestas told the Advertiser that illegal drug use is an offense that could result in a Coast Guard member’s discharge.

Contacted by NBC News on Wednesday, Honolulu police spokesman Capt. Andrew Lum said he could only confirm that Matthews was “no longer a missing person.”

A person in the public affairs office for the Coast Guard in Honolulu said a request by NBC News for information would be forwarded to a superior officer.

Federal prosecutors on Monday charged two Mexican nationals in the killing of a Coast Guardsman who died during a counter-drug operation off the California coast.

Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III was killed Sunday when he was thrown off a Coast Guard cutter after a suspicious vessel rammed into it, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. Horne died from a traumatic head injury. Another guardsman was treated for minor injuries.

The suspects, Jose Meija-Leyva and Manuel Beltran-Higuera, were both expected to make initial court appearances in Los Angeles Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Meija-Leyva told investigators that he was the captain of the "panga" boat, the release said.

A panga is an open, low-sided fishing boat that is favored by Mexican smugglers, according to The Associated Press.

AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard/ Lt. Stewart Sibert

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, stationed on the Cutter Halibut. Horne died early Sunday from injuries sustained during law enforcement operations near Santa Cruz Island, Calif.

Early Sunday, the Cutter Halibut approached the suspicious boat, and personnel identified themselves as law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney's office said. After a confrontation that resulted in the panga's ramming the Coast Guard boat, Horne and another guardsman were thrown into the water.

The panga boat fled the scene, according to authorities, but was intercepted by a Coast Guard vessel about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. At that time, suspects Meija-Leyva and Beltran-Higuera were detained, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

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Horne, 34, was a 14-year veteran of the Coast Guard.

"Our fallen shipmate stood the watch on the front lines protecting our nation, and we are all indebted to him for his service and sacrifice," Coast Guard commandant Admiral Robert J. Papp told the AP.

The Los Angeles Border Enforcement Security Task Force in San Pedro, Calif. is investigating.

The number of suspected smuggling vessels spotted on California shores by U.S. authorities has more than quadrupled since 2008, according to the AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Coast Guard called off its search Monday for a teenager who was swept to sea with his parents in northern California over the weekend while trying to rescue the family dog, saying it's not likely the 16-year-old boy could have survived the cold waters.

Officials recovered the bodies of the teen's mother and father Saturday afternoon at Big Lagoon, about 32 miles north of Eureka, Calif., in Humboldt County. Authorities say the family was trying to rescue their dog from powerful surf, after the canine was pulled into the ocean by powerful, 10-foot waves, The Associated Press reported.

The Humboldt County Coroner's office on Monday identified the parents as Mary Elena Scott, 57, and Howard Kuljian, 54, of Freshwater, Calif. The missing teen was identified as Gregory Kuljian.

Coast Guard Lt. Bernie Garrigan told the AP the search for the missing boy was stopped Monday, saying that a person without a wetsuit could not survive for long in the frigid surf.

On Saturday, the teen had gone after the dog, and the father followed him into the water to attempt a rescue, State Parks District Superintendent Dana Jones told the AP. The 16-year-old was able to get out of the waves, but then went back into the water with his mother to find his father, the AP reported.

"Both were dragged into the ocean," Jones told the AP, noting that the dog got out of the water on its own.

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The Coast Guard said the parents' daughter reportedly was the one who called 911, The Times-Standard in Eureka reported.

Earlier, the AP reported the Coast Guard tried using a helicopter and two motor life boats to try to find the missing teen, but thick coastal fog had suspended the aerial search.

Officials say the Big Lagoon beach has a steep shoreline where the waves roll in and crash onto the sand, which makes the area dangerous, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Updated at 11:43 p.m. ET: Searchers on Monday evening found the body of one of two missing crew members of the stricken ship HMS Bounty, which sank off the coast of North Carolina after it was caught in Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Coast Guard said. 

Claudene Christian, 42, was pulled from the water unresponsive and transported to Elizabeth City Hospital, the Coast Guard said. She was later pronounced dead. Crews continue searching for the remaining missing person, identified as the ill-fated ship's captain, Robin Walbridge, 63.

Earlier Monday, two Coast Guard helicopters rescued 14 people from life rafts after they were forced to abandon ship.

Coast Guard rescue pilot Lt. Jenny Fields told NBC News that the rescue operation was a "challenging hoist" but that she was lucky to have a "skillful crew" on her Jayhawk helicopter.

Fields said those rescued appeared in "good spirits" and were "happy to be able to relax."

'It was huge out there'
Coast Guard rescue swimmer Randy Haba helped pluck several crew members off a 25-foot rubber life raft. He was also lowered to a crew member floating in the water alone. He wrapped a strap around his body, and raised him to the chopper.

"It's one of the biggest seas I've ever been in. It was huge out there," Haba told The Associated Press.

The two crew members who went missing were wearing survival suits designed to help keep them afloat and protected from cold waters for up to 15 hours.

The 180-foot, three-mast ship issued a distress signal late Sunday after taking on water, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a release.

The director of the HMS Bounty Organization, Tracie Simonin, said the ship -- which was built for the 1962 Marlon Brando movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty" -- had left Connecticut last week en route for St. Petersburg, Fla.

"They were staying in constant contact with the National Hurricane Center," she said. "They were trying to make it around the storm."

After receiving the distress signal, the Coast Guard sent out an aircraft to speak with the crew, which reported that the vessel was taking on water and had no propulsion.

The rescue took place in winds of 40 mph and 18-foot seas about 90 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Jeff Haynes / AFP - Getty Images, file

The HMS Bounty, a replica used in the Marlon Brando movie "Mutiny on the Bounty," sails past the Chicago skyline in this image from July 2003.

Those rescued were taken to Elizabeth City, N.C. None had life-threatening injuries. The Coast Guard identified them as: Daniel Cleveland, 25; John Svendsen, 41; Matthew Sanders, 37; Adam Prokosh, 27; Douglas Faunt, 66; John Jones, 29; Drew Salapatek, 29; Joshua Scornavacchi, 25; Anna Sprague, 20; Mark Warner, 33; Christopher Barksdale, 56; Laura Groves, 28; Jessica Hewitt, 25; and Jessica Black, 34.

The vessel reportedly sank, but the mast was still visible, the Coast Guard said.

Anxious family members
Mary Ellen Sprague said she talked to her daughter, Anna Sprague, after the rescue. She said her daughter had been aboard the HMS Bounty since May. The ship was going to spend the winter in Galveston, Texas.

Sandy strengthens as it bears down on eastern US

"She was probably the youngest member of the crew," Mary Ellen Sprague told the AP.

She said she had not learned many details yet because her daughter, normally talkative and outgoing, was being uncharacteristically quiet.

Glimpse into maritime history
The Bounty makes frequent trips around the country, offering a glimpse into maritime history, according to the ship's website, which appeared to be down Monday. It was originally a British transport vessel, and the replica has appeared in several films, including the 2006 movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," with Johnny Depp. Its last stop before its winter hiatus in Galveston, Texas, was to be in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Nov. 10.

BreakingNews.com's coverage of Hurricane Sandy

It is unclear why the boat set out to sea with Sandy bearing down. Sandy could be the largest storm ever to hit the United States, according to NOAA's website.

The Associated Press and NBC News' Rachel Elbaum and Jim Miklaszewski contributed to this report.

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Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP, file

Oil tycoon Guma Aguiar is seen in Jerusalem on Aug. 10, 2009. Police are searching for clues after Aguiar disappeared during a boat trip in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Life jackets and a leather prayer box that holds religious texts were found aboard a missing Fort Lauderdale, Fla., oil tycoon’s boat after it ran aground, but Guma Aguiar had left his watch and wedding ring at home, according to a new U.S. Coast Guard report.

More than two months after Aguiar, 35, vanished, the report offers new details and raises more questions about his mental state. His boat was last seen June 19 jumping waves hours before it washed ashore without him on it in Fort Lauderdale, its engines still running. Police found no blood on the boat and no evidence of foul play.

The Coast Guard report, compiled by several officers during the 48-hour air-and-sea search for Aguiar, was obtained by the Sun Sentinel through a Freedom of Information Act request.

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According to logs based on interviews and investigators’ notes, security cameras show Aguiar “leaving his house with a purpose” and getting on a boat. He was “not in a good frame of mind” due to financial problems, and he had an argument with his wife “over divorce,” according to the notes.

Cmdr. Darren Caprara told the Sun Sentinel that the notes don’t prove that Aguiar planned a suicide.

“We don’t truly know where something went wrong,” Caprara said. “We ask hundreds of questions to try and get any small detail to aid our search. What we are really trying to get to is what he could have done out there.”

All the life jackets on Aguiar’s boat were accounted for, and Caprara said the leather box, used by Jews during weekday prayers, “is just another lead. It could have meant that he had a resounding desire to live, and was a highly spiritual person.”

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Aguiar’s mother, Ellen Aguiar, told the Sun Sentinel she did not know her son’s rituals while he was boating.

“I can only speculate that when he left the house, he was upset and took things that gave him solace,” Ellen Aguiar said.

Relatives have said that Aguiar did struggle with mental health problems and was stressed by lawsuits that threatened his financial assets. Friends have also said that he loved his wife and children and can’t imagine he’d intentionally leave them.

Ellen said she has not yet given up hope that her son will be found alive.

Aguiar’s boat floated onto the sand at 1:15 a.m. five hours after he left home on June 20. He remains a missing person case for Fort Lauderdale police. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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U.S. Coast Guard / AP

A photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows Russell Crowe, center, with Coast Guard Petty Officers Robert Swieciki, left, and Thomas Watson on Sunday.

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe lost his way kayaking in the waters off New York's Long Island and was picked up by a U.S. Coast Guard boat and ferried to a harbor, officials said Sunday.

The 48-year-old actor was kayaking with a friend and launched from Cold Spring Harbor Saturday afternoon on the Long Island Sound, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Swieciki. As it got dark, the two got lost and headed for shore, beaching their kayaks in Huntington Bay, nearly 10 miles east from where they had set out.

 The U.S. Coast Guard was patrolling the area and heard Crowe call out to them from the shore around 10 p.m., Swieciki said. The "Gladiator" actor and his friend, who Swieciki didn't recognize, paddled over to the boat. The Coast Guard officers pulled them up and, along with their kayaks, gave them a ride to Huntington Harbor.

"He just needed a little bit of help, he just got a little lost," Swieciki said. "It wasn't really a rescue, really, more of just giving someone a lift."

Slideshow: Russell Crowe

Swieicki said no one was injured, and the two men were wearing life vests. He said the actor, who was grateful and friendly, seemed like he was a fairly experienced kayaker.

Crowe, who starred in the 2003 naval film "Master and Commander," sent a Twitter message about 1:30 a.m. Sunday thanking the officers, and saying he was out on the water four and a half hours. 

"Thanks to Seth and the boys from the US Coast Guard for guiding the way...4 hrs 30 mins, 7m(11.2km)," he wrote.

Crowe is on Long Island filming a new movie called "Noah" in Oyster Bay. The biblical epic is directed by Darren Aronofsky and scheduled for release in 2014.

Crowe won an Academy Award for best actor for his role as a Roman soldier called Maximus in "Gladiator."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.