CLEVELAND — A state official said Monday that people aboard the boat on which Emma Nahas was last seen before she went for a swim in Lake Erie last week have cooperated with investigators looking into her disappearance.

“We did talk to quite a few people as part of our investigation, and we will continue to do so,” Bill Staiger, northern region manager for the Ohio Division of Watercraft, said. “I am not running the investigation per se, but I can say that everybody who was there at the time was contacted.”

Tracy Super, mother of the 2008 Midview High graduate who was most recently living in the Cleveland area, has expressed frustration with the case.

She said she feels those aboard the 48-foot cabin cruiser with her daughter are either telling conflicting stories about what occurred or not talking at all.

Staiger said he did not know if any of the nine people aboard the vessel has declined to cooperate with state watercraft authorities.

“I do not have that knowledge first-hand whether anyone refused to talk when they were originally brought ashore at the Coast Guard station,” he said.

He stressed investigators cannot legally compel anyone to talk.

“You can exercise your Fifth Amendment right and refuse to answer questions under advice of an attorney,” Staiger said. “There is no way we can legally compel people to cooperate.”

The Division of Watercraft is a branch of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which is investigating Nahas’ disappearance.

The Coast Guard has not received any new information or reports of sightings of Nahas, according to Chief Petty Officer George Degener in the 9th District Coast Guard Public Affairs office in Cleveland. “Pending new information the case remains suspended. We will resume with a maximum search effort if and when new data is received.”

A nearly 24-hour search for Nahas was suspended Friday night.

The search, which involved Coast Guard rescue boats, helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft flown in from Elizabeth City. N.C., encompassed approximately 7 miles of the lake, according to the Coast Guard.

Nahas reportedly went for a swim in Lake Erie between 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday. A male who reportedly jumped into the water with her was later rescued after he called for help, but those aboard the pleasure craft apparently did not realize Nahas was missing until the man was pulled from the water, according to Kelsey Silvestra, 19, a Clevelander aboard the boat. Though she did not know Nahas before meeting her onboard, the two talked as the group partied from Thursday afternoon on. Silvestra acknowledged the group was drinking.

Asked if there was any indication of foul play, Staiger said “as you go through an investigation, we look at different things to try and determine if criminal acts occurred or not. You don’t rule things out till you have evidence showing that they did not occur. But it’s way too early in the investigation to say yes or no.”

No charges have been brought against anyone on the boat, according to Staiger.

Nahas worked at the Powerhouse Gyms in Elyria and North Olmsted and had also served as a ring girl for Superior Cage Fighting competitions staged by mixed martial arts promoter and Cleveland attorney Leif Christman.

“She was our number one ring girl at every show,” Christman said. “Her outgoing personality and beautiful smile will be remembered by everyone who had the pleasure to meet her. Having a daughter myself, I can’t imagine how painful this experience must be. It’s tragic.”

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

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