JUPITER, Fla. — After three days of searching for a missing Navy sailor from Jupiter, police are suspending their search efforts.
Seamus Gray, 21, is described as a fighter and resilient, just like his mother, who is desperately searching to bring him home.
Gray attended elementary school at All Saints Catholic School in Jupiter and his lifelong dream was to become a Navy sailor.
After expanding their search efforts Friday to north Chicago, the Waukegan Police Department in Illinois called off their search for Gray.
“Right now, we are ending our search effort,” Waukegan Police Commander Scott Chastain said. “We’ve hit everything we could on the ground, we had drones in the air, we had a canine out, we had again the boat in the water, and we’ve searched every area we could search at this time.”
More than a hundred U.S. Navy members joined first responders searching the woods and water with no sign of Gray.
“We’re pretty confident that the ground was searched very thoroughly,” Chastain said.
Surveillance video during the early morning hours of March 18 is the last time Gray was seen, walking in an alley near the lake shoreline, police said, after a night out at the bar.
“He’s a great athlete, he's a great boy and it’s time for him to come home,” Cynthia Harkins said.
While crews continue to investigate, here at home, more than a thousand miles away, family and friends are relying on their faith for a safe return.
“All I can think of is just pray,” Harkins said.
Late Thursday afternoon dozens gathered outside St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Jupiter.
The group not only prayed for Gray but also for his mother’s strength as she struggles to piece together her son’s whereabouts.
“Everybody that has come across the Gray family in general knows how amazing they are,” Jennifer Patterson said, “and how truly blessed we all are to have been with them in any capacity.”
Although the search ended Friday, police said, if they receive any more leads they will resume searching.