Christopher Jude Medice
June 30, 2008July 12 Centerstage Singing Competition (Houma)
July 2, 2008The Coast Guard says it has suspended the search for a missing bank president from Gonzales.
It had been searching since last Wednesday evening, when 39-year-old Paul Callais, a native of Golden Meadow, reportedly fell off a private yacht south of Great Inagua, Bahamas.
The Coast Guard says the crews of a cutter, two helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft searched about 2,800 square miles of the Caribbean Sea, and the Cuban government helped as well.
A news release Saturday said the search was suspended Friday night.
The crew told investigators Callais was alone on deck and was not wearing a life jacket when the private yacht encountered a nearly 12-foot wave. It was about 37 miles from land.
Callais was president and CEO of United Community Bank in Gonzales, which was founded by his father, Harold Callais. The bank celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month.
The older Callais died at sea after suffering a heart attack in September 2000 during a scuba-diving expedition off the Louisiana coast. He was traveling aboard the same boat from which his son disappeared last week.
