CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP)The Coast Guards three-day search for two NFL players and a third man sent adrift in chilly seas ended in futility, dashing hopes they might be found after rescuers plucked one survivor from the Gulf of Mexico.

Crews c****ed more than 24,000 miles of ocean before calling off their search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The four friends had been missing since Saturday when their boat capsized during a fishing trip.

On Monday, Crews did rescue Bleakleys former South Florida teammate, 24-year-old Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the 21-foot boat. But Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said if there were any other survivors, they would have been found.

I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort, Close said. Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.

Searchers spotted no signs of the men except for a cooler and a life jacket 16 miles southeast of the boat. Still, family members of Cooperthe son of Phoenix sportscaster Bruce Coopermaintained hope at a Tuesday night prayer vigil in Mesa, Ariz., that he might turn up.