Four members of a Florida family were found dead Tuesday after their small plane disappeared while flying from the Bahamas to South Florida, according to a family member.
The victims were identified as 80-year-old Mario Lamar, his wife, 79-year-old Lili Lamar, and their grandchildren, 28-year-old Sofi Sosa and 22-year-old Christian Sosa.
The family had been returning to Miami after spending the Labor Day weekend at their second home in Great Harbour Cay in the Bahamas.
Mario Lamar was piloting the aircraft. His niece, Silvia Larrieu, said he had more than 40 years of experience as a pilot and regularly made flights to the Bahamas.
The Piper PA-34 aircraft, identified by tail number N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay at about 10:12 a.m. Monday, according to authorities. It was headed for Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at about 11:04 a.m., when it was approximately 13 miles west of Andros Island.
Bahamas police said the aircraft was believed to have gone down near Red Bays in North Andros. The U.S. Coast Guard joined Bahamian authorities in the search after being asked to assist.
The search was complicated by poor weather conditions. Family members also organized their own search, with relatives using boats to look for the missing aircraft and those aboard.
The first body was located Tuesday morning by a civilian boat, according to the family. Relatives later confirmed that all four people aboard had been found dead.
The family had become concerned after Sofi Sosa’s messages stopped being delivered. She had told her parents in a family group chat that they were leaving the Bahamas, while a flight plan filed by Lamar indicated when the aircraft was expected to arrive in South Florida.
The family said they are grateful to the people who assisted with the search and have asked for privacy as they mourn.
Authorities have not released a cause for the crash. The circumstances surrounding what happened to the aircraft remain under investigation.
