British Woman Mary Gavin Missing After Hiring Boat in Spanish island of Formentera

Spanish police and coastguards have launched a major search for Mary Gavin, a 39-year-old British woman who disappeared after renting a small boat on the island of Formentera.

Mary hired a 15-foot cream-coloured motorboat on Wednesday afternoon. She reportedly told the rental company she was going for a quick boat ride. She left from La Salina port, but never returned the boat.

The alarm was raised around 6:30 p.m. when the boat was not returned. Mary has not been seen or heard from since.

Spanish Coastguards and the Civil Guard began a large air, sea, and land search operation on Thursday. A search helicopter and two coastguard boats were used. One boat came from Ibiza while another searched the Formentera coast.

Police also searched on land while messages were sent to other boaters in the area. They were asked to look out for the missing boat and report anything unusual.

Mary was last seen on a cream-coloured Quicksilver 475 Axess boat with a Mercury outboard engine. The boat is just over 4.5 metres long.

The company that rented her the boat has been named locally as Helix Charter Formentera. The rental firm is also helping with the search.

It is still unclear whether Mary Gavin lives in Spain or was on holiday in the Balearic Islands. Local media report that her plans after taking the boat were unknown. Police say they are considering all possibilities.

Officials have not yet released any new updates as of this morning. The search is expected to continue throughout today.