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By Jordan King and Joshua Rhett Miller
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The bodies of four members of a Florida family whose plane disappeared off the Bahamas have been recovered, relatives said Tuesday.
The four victims were discovered in the water Tuesday by other relatives who joined the search operation, family member Silvia Larrieu said.
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"The search and recovery mission was conducted alongside family members and civilians who answered our call for help," Larrieu's family told WPLG in a statement. "Our relatives ultimately 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 family's statement continued: "We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us, searched alongside us, and kept our family in their prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn this unimaginable loss."
"This is awful," Larrieu, whose uncle, Mario Lamar, 80, had piloted the plane, told the Associated Press during a brief interview.
U.S. Coast Guard officials referred Newsweek to Bahamian authorities early Tuesday. The Royal Bahamas Police Force later confirmed that human remains had been recovered following Monday's suspected crash.
"In response, police have since mobilized a team of officers to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter," police said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
The private plane had been carrying Lamar, his 79-year-old wife, Lili Lamar, and their grandchildren, Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22, when it vanished near Andros Island in the Bahamas while flying to South Florida on Monday. The aircraft is believed to have gone down off Red Bays in North Andros, WSVN reported.
The Piper PA-34, a five-seat, twin-engine aircraft with the tail number N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands on Monday and was bound for Miami Executive Airport. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane about 13 miles west of Andros Island, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
The Coast Guard sent an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to assist Bahamian authorities, but poor weather forced officials to suspend the search Monday evening. Larrieu said her uncle had flown to the Bahamas countless times throughout more than four decades as a pilot.
"He always does this," Larrieu previously told WPLG. "The weather seemed fine. My uncle maintained the plane in pristine condition. He was always on top of it. Anytime he was here in Miami, he would always be at the hangar working on his plane and ensuring it was up to date."
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft’s speed fluctuating before it descended from about 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet in approximately three minutes and disappeared from radar. Authorities have not said what caused the sudden descent.
Bahamian officials asked the U.S. Coast Guard for help around 2 p.m. Monday. The family has since hired a private search-and-rescue team, according to Local 10.
Newsweek contacted the Bahamas Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority via email on Tuesday for comment.
What We Know About the Family
The family had spent Labor Day weekend at the couple’s vacation home on Great Harbour Cay, the Miami Herald reported.
Mario Lamar had more than 40 years of flying experience, his family said. The couple had traveled to the Bahamas for years, with Larrieu describing Great Harbour Cay as a second home.
Sofia Sosa is a certified physician assistant who has worked full-time in neonatal care at KIDZ Medical Services in Miami since August 2024, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Sosa earned a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in 2023. She received a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest University in 2020, where she belonged to Kappa Beta Gamma and played on the women’s club soccer team.
Christian Sosa describes himself on LinkedIn as a marketing creative and freelance photographer. He studied marketing at Loyola Marymount University from 2022 to 2026 and attended the university’s M-School, writing that he was seeking a junior art director position in Los Angeles.
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Weather and Flight Risks Near Andros Island
The waters surrounding the Bahamas can present rapidly changing conditions for pilots, particularly when thunderstorms develop over open water.
A National Weather Service marine forecast issued at 9:24 p.m. on Monday said showers and thunderstorms would “remain active” across northern Atlantic waters west of 60 degrees longitude through Tuesday night. That regional forecast was issued several hours after the aircraft disappeared and does not reflect the conditions the flight encountered.
The Federal Aviation Administration warns that thunderstorms “pack just about every weather hazard known to aviation” and says a microburst—a concentrated downdraft—can produce destructive winds exceeding 100 knots.
Offshore storm detection and avoidance can be more challenging. The FAA says, “Weather radar coverage over the ocean is limited,” while radar information transmitted to aircraft “may be delayed” and does not directly detect turbulence.
Other Recent Missing Plane Cases
The disappearance follows several other searches for aircraft lost near U.S. waters, although authorities have not drawn any connection between the cases.
In February 2025, a Bering Air flight carrying a pilot and nine passengers disappeared while traveling from Unalakleet to Nome, Alaska. A Coast Guard helicopter found the wreckage about 34 miles southeast of Nome the following day, and officials determined that the crash was not survivable.
The National Transportation Safety Board later concluded that the aircraft stalled after the pilot failed to maintain sufficient airspeed. Investigators also found that the plane was operating above its maximum weight and had encountered severe icing conditions.
In June 2025, six people were reported missing after a Cessna 414 crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 3 miles west of Point Loma, California. The Coast Guard and partner agencies covered more than 300 square miles during 35 hours of searching before suspending the operation. “The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one,” Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Justin Brooks said.
The pilot in that case had reported difficulty climbing and maintaining the flight path before issuing several distress calls. The NTSB opened an investigation into the crash.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Sam Wilson.
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