The last search for MH370 found no wreckage and no clues about the plane's fate

After a three-month-long sweeping probe of the Indian Ocean in search of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, searchers were forced to concede defeat on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

MH370 went missing in March 2014, disappearing with 239 people on board while flying from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Previous searches found no sign of the plane.

The most recent search, led by U.S.-based company Ocean Infinity, has come to an end after spanning more than 43,000 square miles. The search covered an area four times larger than where experts believed the plane may have crashed, and searched a different zone than a previous hunt led by Australia, Malaysia, and China. The search was privately funded, with Malaysian officials agreeing to pay the company $70 million only if it found wreckage or black boxes, AP reports.

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Ocean Infinity researchers said their deep-sea vessel found no wreckage and no further evidence of what fate may have befallen MH370. The company extended its search multiple times in hopes of finding a clue on the ocean floor, but had no luck. The company's chief executive said he hoped to resume the hunt one day, but no other search for the downed Boeing 777 is planned. Read more at The Associated Press.