SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Coast Guard search hundreds of square miles of ocean off the coast of Point Loma Tuesday after receiving a possibly bogus mayday from a man who said he and three others, including two children, were in a sinking craft in the area.

The federal maritime agency received the distress dispatch about 3:30 a.m., said Petty Officer 1st Class Allyson Conroy of USCG Sector San Diego headquarters' public information office.

The man making the radio call said he was aboard a boat called the Timber Wolf along with another adult and two minors, Conroy said. He first reported their position as five miles north of Point Loma, then five miles west of the peninsula community, according to Conroy.

The man also said his group was abandoning their foundering vessel and getting into a life raft.

The Coast Guard sent out two helicopters and a small boat to search the dark ocean waters off the coast of San Diego, then sent out another chopper at daybreak, Conroy said. As of late morning, the personnel had found no "signs of distress," she said.

Adding to the mystery was the fact that Coast Guard officials could find no registration record of a boat named Timber Wolf.

By midday, the agency had called the search personnel back to their base while continuing to send out regular radio calls requesting that boaters in the area keep an eye out for a life raft or capsized vessel.

At 1 p.m., the search, which had covered about 400 square miles, was officially suspended pending any further developments, USCG public affairs Lt. Josh Nelson said.

The incident may wind up being classified as a costly apparent hoax, according to Nelson.

"That's definitely a valid concern that we have at this point," the lieutenant said.