Abby Sunderland is trying to sail solo around the world and had reached the halfway point Monday.
[Updated at 7:24 p.m. ET] Electronic signals from Sunderland's boat indicate it is drifting at just 1 mph, which means it still is afloat but not under sail, said Jeff Casher, an engineer on her support team.
The mast might have fallen or Sunderland could have been injured,
preventing her from sailing, he said.
[Updated at 4:20 p.m. ET] Abby Sunderland's family is scrambling to persuade any government with an aircraft in the area to help find the 16-year-old sailor, family spokesman Christian Pinkston told CNN.
The California teen's 40-foot boat was in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 miles east of Madagascar and 2,000 miles west of Australia, when distress signals started coming from the boat Thursday morning California time, Pinkston said. No one has been able to contact Sunderland since then.
Sunderland began her journey from Marina del Rey, California, on January 23 with the goal of sailing her 40-foot boat around the world solo and without stopping. Mechanical troubles forced her to make two stops for repairs, including in Cape Town, South Africa, in early May.
Sunderland's family was told at about 5 a.m. PT about the distress signals. The family had spoken to her just one hour earlier, and although she was in rough seas, she was not in distress at that time, according to Pinkston.
The closest boat - a private fishing vessel - is 40 hours away, according to Pinkston.
The distress signals came from two manually activated distress beacons, Sunderland's family said on her blog Thursday afternoon. When they were talking with her Thursday morning, she told them she had just had a rough sailing day, with winds of up to 60 knots and seas of up to 25 feet, though the winds had subsided to about 35 knots, according to the blog.
"We are actively seeking out some sort of air rescue but this is difficult due to the remoteness of her location," the family's blog post said. "Australian Search and Rescue have arranged to have a [Qantas] Airbus fly over her location at first light (she is 11 hours later). They will not be able to help her other than to talk via marine radio if they are able to get close enough. Hopefully, they will be able to assess her situation and report back to us."
The post also said Abby "has all of the equipment on board to survive a crisis situation like this."
"She has a dry suit, survival suit, life raft, and ditch bag with emergency supplies," the family's post said. "If she can keep warm and hang on, help will be there as soon as possible."
The Australian coast guard and the Reunion Island government - a French island that is the closest land to her last position - are involved in efforts to help Sunderland, according to Peter Thomas, a freelance journalist who spoke to Sunderland's father Thursday.
[Posted at 2:09 p.m. ET] A teenage girl attempting to sail solo around the world has gone missing after sending out distress signals in the Indian Ocean, according to a CNN affiliate in her hometown.
Abby Sunderland, 16, of Thousand Oaks, California, has not been heard from since losing contact with her family during a storm Thursday, her brother told CNN affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles.
Sunderland activated her emergency beacon locating devices an hour after losing contact with her family, and a rescue effort is under way. The nearest boat is believed to be at least 40 hours away, according to KTLA.
Sunderland celebrated passing the halfway point Monday on her quest to circumnavigate the globe alone in a sailboat, according to her website. She initially planned to be the youngest to make the trip nonstop, but that was undone in early May when she stopped for repairs in South Africa.
"I've been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts," she wrote Wednesday on her blog. It took her two hours to repair a torn sail in the wind and high waves, and her internet connection on board her 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, was failing, she wrote.
CNN's Alan Duke, Allison Blakely and Irving Last contributed to this report.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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I am praying that Abby is ok will survive until found but I also have to add What the heck were the parents thinking letting a 16 yr old sail by herself??????????? I dont care how good she was, anyone would have problems in the open water. Plus having to deal with pirates.
lets pray she gets home save and sound it gets really bad out there at night it gets cold and around this time in the seasion. so every one thats going to read this and that just now read it pray for her family that they're little girl gets home save. and parents that are out there reading this pray for that little girl out there by her self that she gets back to her parents ssave and sound please and thank you
I hope that this story doesn't have the tragic ending that seems likely. I have to agree with the folks saying that this was not a responsible decision by her parents. Just because your sixteen year old CAN do something, doesn't mean they should. The inherent dangers should have been enough for them to put the brakes on. So she would have been the youngest to sail solo around the world – so what? A year later someone comes along and breaks the record. I'm sure she's a smart, savvy, capable girl – but there are too many factors beyond her control. Geez, a young girl alone on the streets of her hometown isn't safe...is the Indian Ocean really the best place for her? It's simple common sense. Pirates, unsavory types at various ports who might be interested in a young girl, unpredictable weather, equipment failure,etc....this should have been a "NO" from the parents. As a parent I encourage my kids' dreams, but it's also my job to keep them safe. If my kid asked to sail around the world alone at sixteen I'd have to say "Not on my watch." Can't stop them at eighteen, but her trip is funded and encouraged by her parents. I really, really hope this story has a happy ending.
I've been praying to bone Megan Fox for the last 5 years and the closest i've come to is a printout of her face pasted in a susie doll, am i doing anything wrong??
For everyone comparing the parents support of this venture to allowing kids to drive; are you kidding me???? How about if we let all the kids go sailing around the world by themselves instead of driving. How many do you think would return alive? There is allowing a child to grow and explore through reasonable risk taking. This was lunacy and the result proves it.
ugh the parents are just dumb for letting her leave.now they care because shes stuck .its there fault in the first place
I HOPE SHE DROWNS!
And you Americans wonder why the rest of the world considers you ignorant??? The comments here have been quite entertaining. I particulaurly like Lizbeth who seems to wonder why a helecopter cannot be sent (HELLOOO 2000 miles???). Good on you guys keep praying, it is all you seem capable of.
I can't prove it, but I just know Joran van der Sloot is behind all this.
Joran van der Sloot took her.
I really hope she's dead. Serves her right for doing something so stupid and pointless.
Are you kidding me? if i was 16 and told my parents that i was going to sail around the entire world BY MYSELF, my parents would easily send me directly to a mentaal hospital. How in the world could they let her go out there thinking nothing bad will happend? no one is invinsible no matter how hard it is to believe. The rescue crews aren't even doing anything yet, saying you willn doesnt nesseserily mean they'll do it. Also, they've said were deciding wether or not to send either a boat or a plane and i quote " either a plane or a boat, but not a rescue plane" Get real people this girl is only 16.
i never understand why people say atleast she died doing what she loved to do....if she dies she will die alone, scared out of her mind, and completely second guessing her decision to ever get on that boat. And maybe if she is lucky her family and their love might be in her last thoughts, but im almost positive her last thoughts will have nothing to do with how much she loved this adventure!!!
this is tragic that a life will be lost and a family torn apart, but if you would have asked me my thoughts of a 16 year old female sailing the world completely alone, I would tell you 100% of the time that she will most likely die trying!!!
At least the balloon boy's dad had enough sense to not actually stick the kid in the balloon in his quest for fame.
When all of you can control the ocean and predict storms, you let me know so the rest of the world at large can dub you a superhero.
If you think unexpected storms happen in the snap of a finger on land, try being out at sea. Plus, as many others have said, her brother Zac did the same thing. She has obviously come from a sailing family and has most likely spent her entire life on boats. Now she's in a boat which is WELL equipped to handle any "surprises" that may happen on the ocean. I have enough faith in people today, especially parents of experience, that they knew exactly what they were getting into when they let Abby take on this admirable task. I don't believe they just let her leave one morning on a whim.