Venice, Fla. The bodies of two people, including a child, were recovered in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. Wreckage of a chartered Piper Cherokee airplaneofficials said.
Venice police confirmed that debris was spotted from the air in the bay around 2 p.m., about one-third of a mile west of the airport south of Tampa.
The plane was found hours after the Federal Aviation Administration called Venice police to investigate at Venice airport for an overdue airplane that did not return to the airport in St. Petersburg on Saturday night was.
During the FAA’s investigation on Sunday, recreational boaters reported finding a dead woman floating in the bay approximately 2.5 miles west of Venice Beach, according to a news release from the police department.
Searchers from multiple agencies began searching the plane and any debris for possible occupants. After the plane was found, divers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office found a dead teen in the passenger area of the plane, a police release said.
Authorities believe there was a male pilot or passenger on board the plane during the flight, but its wreckage was not found until Sunday afternoon.
The missing Piper Cherokee was located just after 2 p.m. Sunday.
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Search efforts for the missing male occupant were to continue until sunset on Sunday and resume on Monday, as conditions permitted.
The investigation is still active and Venice police have not released information about the occupants, pending family notifications and clearances from other involved agencies, including the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Search and crash scene assistance is ongoing from the Sheriff’s Office, US Coast Guard, Sarasota Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office.
