SAN DIEGO — A small fishing boat washed up on shore in North County Monday morning, prompting an extensive search for people who may have entered the country illegally.

The panga was spotted near Windanesea Beach in the La Jolla area shortly before 7 a.m., Customs and Border Protection said. Border Patrol agents were sent to investigate and found seven life jackets, plus four fuel containers at the beach.

Agents spread out around the surrounding area for signs of anyone who may have been aboard the boat, but no one had been found as of 9:30 a.m., officials said.

Pangas are low-lying fishing boats with an outboard motor that are often used to smuggle people and drugs into the U.S. CBP said it was seizing the boat.