Javier A. Mendez, 49, has been missing since August 16, 2019, after failing to return from a boating trip near Fajardo, Puerto Rico. He was aboard a white 22-foot Proline boat named WEPA with three other men — Hector Méndez, 60; Héctor Méndez Jr., 30; and Victor Goitia, 59 — when the vessel reportedly experienced mechanical issues in the waters between Isleta Marina and Cayo Icacos.

The US Coast Guard mounted an extensive search-and-rescue operation that began that Friday afternoon and continued for five days. Air and surface units covered more than 22,000 square nautical miles — an area about six times the size of Puerto Rico — and ran over 46 searches, extending from Fajardo, Vieques, and Culebra to more than 80 miles offshore along the northern coast. The search was suspended at sunset on the following Tuesday with no sign of the men or the boat.

At disappearance Javier Mendez was described as a Hispanic/Latino male, 5 feet 0 inches, 165 pounds, with brown hair and black eyes. The case remains open with the Policia de Puerto Rico. If anyone was in the area that day or has information about the WEPA or its engine registration TAB PR3344, please come forward.