On the same day the Coast Guard announced it ended the search for the missing cargo ship El Faro, word has come that one of the missing crew members is from Westchester.
Richard Pusatere, who grew up in Croton, was the chief engineer on the SS El Faro, which sank in the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin last week.
On Wednesday night, the Coast Guard suspended its search for survivors near the Bahamas, where the 790-foot ship sank last Thursday after suffering unexplained engine failure, was taking on water and encountered rough seas due to the storm.
Pusatere attended high school at Archbishop Stepinac and then enrolled in SUNY Maritime College.
The Coast Guard says they searched across a 300-square-mile expanse of the Bahamas. They found a body in a survival suit, but were unable to retrieve it.
The president of Archbishop Stepinac released a statement Wednesday night, saying in part, "The Stepinac community is deeply saddened and concerned for Richard Pusatere, who graduated from our school in 1999 and pray that he and other members of the El Faro cargo ship will be rescued immediately and returned in good health to their families."