Coast Guard halts search for man who went missing

The Coast Guard suspended its search Thursday for a Royal Caribbean crew member who went overboard off the Harmony of the Seas about 270 miles from Puerto Rico.

Arron Hough, 20, of the United Kingdom went overboard on Christmas Day, the Coast Guard said.

Meanwhile, Coast guard crews based in South Florida are working without pay as they search for another missing person.

President Donald Trump and congressional leaders are in a stalemate over his demand for $5

billion to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump remained in Washington, D.C., over the holidays instead of coming to his private club on Palm Beach. When he’s at Mara-Lago, the Coast Guard patrols the surrounding waters.

About 42,000 activeduty military members of the Coast Guard remain on duty during the partial government shutdown that began Saturday, but they will work without pay until further notice.

The Coast Guard in South Florida gets paid the first and 15th of each month. If legislation is not passed Friday, Coast Guard members won’t be getting their next paychecks on Jan. 1 and will need to wait to get paid for their work, said spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Crystalynn Kneen.

Still, the “Coast Guard continues operation ... that provide national security and protect life and property,” Kneen said.

The Coast Guard is the only military branch under the Department of Homeland Security — not the Department of Defense — and so it will be the only branch working without getting paid, at least temporarily, she said.

Thursday was the third day of the search for a man who disappeared while riding a Jet Ski off the Florida Keys. Carlos GarciaCruz, 52, of Miami, was reported missing Tuesday by his girlfriend.

Garcia-Cruz was last seen wearing a life jacket on a blue and white Jet Ski. He left Marathon on Saturday and was expected to return on Christmas Eve.