HYDE COUNTY — The search for two missing mariners in the Pamlico Sound was suspended Thursday afternoon following a search spanning almost two days and 1,170 square miles, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The search followed the activation of an emergency position indicating radio beacon on the Hyde County fishing vessel Papa’s Girl just after 7 p.m. Tuesday night. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City were launched to assist the vessel, which had capsized.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that it was still unclear what caused the vessel to overturn.

At the beginning of the search effort, two of the four mariners onboard were rescued, and one was later pronounced dead at Sentara Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City.

Although the Coast Guard declined to release the names of the crew members involved in the incident Thursday, reports from multiple media outlets cite friends and family in naming the crewman who died as Capt. Floyd Gibbs and Benjamin Poe as the crewman who survived. The two crew members still missing were identified as Sammy Douglas and Keyron Davis by those same reports.

The search for Douglas and Davis continued after daylight Wednesday, with a variety of agencies and volunteers participating, including the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Marine Patrol and a good Samaritan vessel by the name of Aubrey Niel.

Wednesday afternoon, the Coast Guard launched a HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Elizabeth City to conduct search patterns for the missing mariners, along with a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet. A second 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Hatteras Inlet conducted searches Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

While the search ultimately left one dead and two unaccounted for, Coast Guard officials credit the activation of the emergency positioning beacon with saving the one crew member’s life.

“The marine environment is a dangerous place to work because of the cold water, rough seas and high winds,” said Rear Adm. Keith Smith, commander of the Fifth Coast Guard District. “At this point, we’ve decided to suspend further search efforts for the two missing mariners, pending further information. Our thoughts are with the families and we are very grateful to the master of the vessel, whose EPIRB saved the life of the survivor.”