Fishermen's Family Members Anxiously Await News

The families of the seven missing Northern California fishermen who were lost somewhere in the Gulf of California over the weekend gathered Wednesday, offering each other support and enlisting help wherever they could in the hope that search teams will find them alive.

Family and friends gathered at the San Ramon home of missing fisherman Donald Lee where they were joined by the family of a second missing fisherman, Gene Leong of Dublin.

The two wives -- May Lee and Karen Leong -- sat side by side in Lee's home, anxiously awaiting news of their missing husbands.

The trip to San Felipe was a first for Leong, an avid fisherman. His family told KTVU he worked in sales at Mother's Cookies in Oakland for forty years before retiring.

Leong is also a Vietnam War vet who received a Purple Heart. His family said the 68-year-old is very safety conscious, a characteristic that may help him survive.

"I think he's on an island. He's waiting for them to pick him up if he got out of the boat," said wife Karen Leong. "That's where I'm sure he is. They're good swimmers. He has a vest and he doesn't take risks."

Family members have been working the phones, email, and social networks, enlisting the help of politicians to put pressure on the Mexican government to continue the search.

San Francisco has a Mexican consulate general right here, said Donald Lee's sister-in-law Mary Chiu.

A relative showed KTVU an email she received from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee about his efforts to help.

Lee's son's in-law Jon Carver. told KTVU that Congresswoman Jackie Speier helped expedite his passport so he could travel to San Felipe to join the search.

"This is just tearing everybody apart," said Carver. "I just want to do what I can to help out."

"It’s hard to be here," Donald Lee's wife May Lee. "I want to be close to my husband. I want to be where he is."

Lee told KTVU some survivors were planning to start travelling home tomorrow.

The search effort in Mexico will continue for at least another 24 to 48 hours.