Searchers spot white flare in search for lost family in Gulf

The U.S. Coast Guard has found a second body during its search for a family missing off the coast of southwest Florida.

Crews pulled a second, unidentified, body out of the water around 11 a.m. and located a mast believed to be from the missing ship at 11:55 a.m.

The Kimberly family was sailing to Fort Myers from Sarasota to have repairs done on the sailboat. He said there was no deadline set yet for turning the search into a recovery effort and noted they’re still “holding out hope” they’ll find survivors.

The Coast Guard was able to attribute all of the debris to the ongoing search for the missing sailboat.

“It could be anything – plane light reflections – we get thousands of reports, some of them are flares, some of them not”, Case said.

“We continue to hold out hope”, Case said in a tired, flat voice.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that rescuers located a body with a life jacket on Wednesday afternoon, according to ABC News.

A yellow kayak matching the description of a kayak known to be with the missing family was picked up by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boat crew Thursday morning.

Late Wednesday evening, the Coast Guard said in a press conference they have recovered one body within the search area that had a life vest on, but they have not said which one of the four family members it is.

Mariners with any information were asked to contact the Coast Guard’s St. Petersburg sector at 727-824-7506.

Ace Kimberly, 45, and his three children – Rebecca Kimberly, 17, Donald Kimberly, 15, and Roger Kimberly, 13 were last heard from Sunday afternoon after departing Sarasota en route to Fort Myers.

The agency announced in a news release that Capt. Gregory Case will give an update on the search at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Petersburg.

Coast Guard rescue crews have covered roughly 23,000 miles in their search for the missing family, but the time that has passed since they went missing and the expansive area in which they vanished complicate the search, he said. She said given the flare was identified separately by maritime experts in both a Jayhawk crew and boat crew, the Coast Guard believes strongly it was not a misidentified flare. “It was in the search area, and we’re searching it very hard”. They said items recovered included six life jackets, water jugs and a propane tank as well as a kayak.

Case said units from Fort Myers found a bucket containing the Kimberly’s birth certificates, a Global Positioning System, a wallet, two cell phones, cigarettes, a tool box and a pool noodle about five miles from the body.

Debardelaben says with no working radio on the Kimberly’s boat, no plan filed with the Coast Guard, and the questionable condition of the vessel – it doesn’t look good.