UPDATE: 8:20 p.m. - The United States Coast Guard has suspended the search for Jie Lou, 21, and Andrew Dillman, 27, both missing near Pass-a-Grille since Tuesday. They announced the suspension of the search on their Twitter account:

It happened late Tuesday afternoon at Shell Key when 21-year-old Jie Lou, a senior at Colorado State University, jumped off a rented charter boat. He was one of five to do so.

He struggled to get back to the yacht, so charter mate Andrew Dillman, 27, jumped into the water to help. But the powerful water overtook him as well.

According to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Capt. Todd Davis took 15 college students on what was to be a four-hour cruise. Because of water conditions, Davis anchored at Pass-a-Grille about 45 minutes into the cruise.

Davis overheard talk from the students about jumping into the water, and they were warned not to, the sheriff said.

Luo and Dillman were not wearing personal flotation devices.

"Next of kin for Dillman and Luo have been notified and the search continues for both subjects," the Sheriff's Office said in a news release Wednesday night. "Alcohol was on board the vessel and there were several empty bottles."

Gualtieri said, "We are still in a search mode and we will continue in that mode. That is the right thing to do."