Four Miami family members found dead after Bahamas plane crash

Four members of a Miami family were found dead Tuesday after their small private plane crashed in waters off the Bahamas during a flight home from a long weekend trip, relatives and Bahamian authorities said.

The victims were identified by relatives as pilot Mario Lamar, 80; his wife, Lili Lamar, 79; and two of their grandchildren, Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22. They were aboard a PA-34 Piper, a five-seat aircraft, when it went down near Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas.

“It is with profound sadness that we confirm all four of our family members have been found deceased,” the family said in a statement Tuesday. Relatives said family members “located our loved ones and had to bring them aboard their own vessels.”

“We are now in communication and working with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring our loved ones home safely and with dignity,” the statement continued.

Bahamas police said the aircraft, identified as tail number N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands and was headed to Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County. Authorities gave differing departure times: Bahamas police previously said the plane took off around 11:15 a.m. Monday, while another police statement said it departed at about 10:12 a.m. The family said the plane’s last-known contact was at 11:04 a.m. near the western side of Andros Island.

“Police on the island of Andros are coordinating efforts to locate an aircraft believed to have crash-landed off the coast of Red Bays, North Andros,” Bahamas police said before the bodies were recovered.

Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft when it was about 13 miles west of Andros Island, Bahamas police said. NBC News reported the crash site was about 15 miles off the coast of Andros Island.

Silvia Larrieu, Mario and Lili Lamar’s niece, said the couple had an apartment in the Bahamas and had spent “a wonderful long weekend together” with Sofia and Christian and two other grandchildren. She told NBC South Florida that her uncle was “a lifelong, very experienced pilot” and that the family was “departing business as usual, like he’s done his entire life.”

Larrieu told The Associated Press that Mario Lamar had more than 40 years of flying experience, kept the plane in pristine condition and was cautious. “This is awful,” she said.

Sofia Sosa had texted her parents in a family chat that they were leaving, and a flight plan filed by Mario Lamar showed when the plane was expected to land, Larrieu said. The family contacted authorities after seeing messages were not being delivered. NBC News reported that the mother of the two adult grandchildren called authorities when she did not hear from her children after they were supposed to have landed.

Larrieu also told NBC South Florida that FlightAware, a flight-tracking platform, showed the aircraft “flying into the edge of a storm” before it quickly reversed course.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Bahamian officials contacted it at about 2 p.m. Monday to request help finding a downed plane. A spokesperson said watchstanders coordinated the launch of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry to assist Bahamian authorities. The Coast Guard said Monday it was working with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force to search for crash victims.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said the Coast Guard began a search but had to pause because of weather conditions. It was not immediately clear when the search resumed.

Before all four bodies were found, the family pleaded for help from civilians on the water. “We are heartbroken and desperate,” the family said Tuesday. “We are begging for help.”

After the recoveries, the family thanked “everyone who supported us, searched alongside us, and kept our family in their prayers.”