NEWS

Coast Guard finds body amid sailboat debris

MICHAEL BRAUN, and MELISSA MONTOYA

The News-Press

U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue crews continue to search for missing family west of Sanibel Island.

The four had been living on the boat for the last year.
Identity of body has not been released.

A body was recovered during a search for a family of four missing at sea Wednesday.

The body has been transferred to local authorities, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric Woodall, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard. Woodall declined to name the body found, deferring to local officials.

The family, 45-year-old Ace Kimberly, 13-year-old Roger, 15-year-old Donny and 17-year-old Rebecca, were reported missing Tuesday after they left Sarasota for Fort Myers Sunday on a 29-foot sailboat.

Kimberly had been living on the sailboat for a year with his children. They were traveling to Fort Myers to have the boat repaired.

The body, Woodall said, was found in the search area where the family went missing. According to a news release, the body was found at around 4:30 p.m. 40 nautical miles west of Sanibel.

"The search is continuing throughout the night and into the morning," Woodall said.

A helicopter crew found located a debris field 37 miles west of Sanibel about 10 a.m. with water jugs, tarps, six life jackets, a throwable life ring, a propane tank, a pair of shoes and a basketball.

The tarp, water jugs, six life jackets and a propane tank were then identified by the brother of Kimberly.

About 12:35 p.m., a Fort Myers teams found a green kayak near the debris matching the description of the family's kayak.

Crew members from Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach, Florida, pull a green kayak aboard their response boat off the coast of Sanibel, Florida, Wednesday, June 22, 2016. The kayak is believed to belong to a missing family who were last seen aboard a sailboat.

"Finding the kayak and life jackets signals that we are in a dire situation," said Capt. Greg Case, commander of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. "We are continuing to keep in very close contact with the family and keep them updated on all developments during this difficult time. Locating the debris inside of our search field indicates that we are in the right area, and we are aggressively searching for Ace, Becky, Donny and Roger."

Hope for miracle dims but search goes on for missing Florida boys

U.S. Coast Guard Capt., Gregory Case gestures during a news conference regarding the missing family, Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla. According to the Coast Guard Sector in St. Petersburg, a concerned family member stated that the missing family was last heard from Sunday morning when they left Sarasota, Fla., to sail to Fort Myers to repair the boat.

Kimberly's brother alerted the Coast Guard on Tuesday after they failed to arrive, Case said. The brother said their last word came Sunday, when Ace Kimberly told him they were sailing in "6-foot seas and thunderstorms."

The Coast Guard began searching for the father and his three teenagers off the west coast of Florida on Tuesday.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and Lee County Sheriff’s Office are helping search for the family.

The Coast Guard asks boaters to keep a sharp lookout and contact Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg at 727-824-7506 with any information regarding the whereabouts of the missing family.

Sunday: Search suspended for missing swimmer in Boca Grande

RELATED: Search suspended for missing swimmer in Boca Grande (June 19)

RELATED: U.S. Coast Guard finds four missing boaters (March 14)

RELATED: Coast Guard finds two missing men (Jan. 10)

The Associated Press contributed to this report. The News-Press reporter Ben Brasch contributed to this report.

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter).