Missing Florida Family: Second Body Found Floating Near Boca Grande

A second body was found during the search for the missing Florida family. On Sunday, Ace Kimberly and his three teen children left Sarasota in a boat they had been living on for a year. The boat was not in good shape, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, and was headed to Fort Myers for repairs. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the body of Rebecca Kimberly, 17, was found floating in the water near Englewood Wednesday.

USCG rescue crews found the second body in the water east of Boca Grande. The Coast Guard has not yet been able to identify the body and is continuing on in its search for the missing Florida family, CNN reports. When Rebecca’s body was found, she was still wearing a life jacket.

Coast Guard finds a second body in missing Florida family case: https://t.co/4MC1UmXfj6 pic.twitter.com/shjpnSOz9e

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) June 23, 2016

The Sarasota family encountered rough seas and waves up to six feet tall sometime Sunday afternoon. The boat, which carried Ace Kimberly and his children, Rebecca, Roger, and Donny, reportedly did not have a name or a radio on board.

Ace Kimberly was able to call his brother on a cell phone during the storm on Sunday. The father of three reportedly told his brother he was attempting to survive the storm with his children and get to shore. The brother did not report the family missing until Tuesday. The reason for the delay remains unknown.

The second body was discovered by the Cape Coral Fire and Rescue team on Thursday morning. The body was found about four miles southeast of where the body of Rebecca Kimberly was located. Not long after the body was found, a Customers and Border Protection plane also spotted a sailboat mast approximately 100 miles from the shore of Fort Myers.

Personal items located off the coast of Sanibel, Florida, believed to belong to missing family. pic.twitter.com/rCjvJzD3zk

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) June 22, 2016

A bucket that appeared to contain personal items belonging to the missing Florida family was located about five miles from where the body of Rebecca Kimberly was discovered. The bucket contained a GPS, a cell phone, cigarettes, birth certificates, a tool box, and a pool noodle, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Gregory Case told the media.

Several hours earlier, a USCG helicopter had possibly spotted a flare rising into the air for about three seconds. Captain Case also pointed out airplane lights and various other types of reflections can be mistaken for emergency flares. The search for the missing Florida family has encompassed about 23,000 miles.

“It’s tough,” Case said. “We want to get out there and save them.”

Case also noted that the time before the Coast Guard knew the family was missing, the vast search area, and the days which have gone by without finding a survivor are all causes for concern. However, Captain Case has vowed the search effort will continue.

A debris field found around the recovered body of Rebecca Kimberly also included six more life vests, a tarp, a propane tank, a basketball, and empty kayaks. The kayaks were reportedly being towed behind the boat to serve as life rafts in case the family got into trouble on the water.

The missing Florida family was known to be a close-knit group who often kept to themselves. Ace Kimberly and his children enjoyed going to church together and gathering as a family to sing and play the guitar, according to friends and relatives.

“I want my children,” Pauline Solsberry, the mother of Rebecca, Roger, and Danny, said during the early hours of the search,” according to WTSP.

Pauline had not seen the children since she and their father divorced approximately nine years ago. Solsberry said she kept in touch with her children through a niece and via photos. According to the mother, she learned Ace Kimberly had relocated to Florida about one or two years ago.

“They seemed to be happy,” Pauline Solsberry added. “Even though I don’t like the man, I hoped he would be taking care of his children and keep them safe no matter what happened. I want to tell them that I love them, hope they’re safe, to be safe. I don’t care if they ever want to see me, just be safe.”

After being alerted that her children had gone missing on a boat with their father, Pauline Solsberry made plans to travel to Florida.

[Image via Ivan Cholakov/Shutterstock.com]