Body of juvenile found in plane that crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The search continues

Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
·2 min read

A man remained missing Sunday night a few hours after divers found the body of a juvenile inside a plane that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico off the small beach town of Venice, according to authorities.

A single-engine Piper PA-28 crashed after departing Venice Municipal Airport around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA initially said that only two people were inside the aircraft when it went down.

The FAA didn’t immediately say when the crash occurred, but the Venice Police Department wrote Sunday afternoon in a Facebook post that it happened approximately 2.5 miles west of the Venice Pier.

Search continues for pilot of plane that crashed into Gulf of Mexico near Venice

Police also said recreational divers found the body of a woman in the vicinity of the incident after 10 a.m. — around the same time that the FAA asked them for help to search for a plane that never arrived at its final destination in St. Petersburg.

“The FAA called Venice PD regarding a plane that took off from Venice Airport, but never arrived to its planned destination,” police said. “Around that same time recreational divers located a body in the water that may have been associated with a plane.”

Then just after 2 p.m., the missing Piper Cherokee plane was spotted less than a mile west of the airport, where divers from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office found the body of a juvenile on the passenger side.

“It is believed that a male pilot or passenger was also in the plane during the flight; however, he has not yet been located with the wreckage,” police said.

Authorities haven’t released the names of the deceased. Efforts for the missing man will resume Monday as weather conditions allow it, police said.

Other agencies assisting in the search include the U.S. Coast Guard, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and Sarasota Police Department.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

This developing story will be updated.

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