The bodies of the four occupants of a private plane that lost contact on Monday during a flight from the Bahamas to Miami were recovered this Tuesday by family members who went out in their own boats to search for them, as reported by Telemundo 51.
The victims are Mario Lamar, 80 years old; his wife Lili Lamar, 79; and their grandchildren Sofía Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-34 Seneca with registration N212ML, took off from Great Harbour Cay—where the family had a second residence—at approximately 10:12 a.m. on Monday, heading to Miami Executive Airport.
The last recorded contact occurred around 11:04 a.m., near the western side of Andros Island. Tracking data showed that the plane descended from about 10,000 to 3,700 feet in just three minutes, made a circle, and then disappeared from the system. Authorities estimated that the impact may have taken place between 13 and 15 miles west of Andros.
The disappearance of the plane with four people on board triggered a search operation involving the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the United States Coast Guard, which deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft.
Adverse weather conditions in the area forced a temporary suspension of operations on Monday, and by the end of that day, Bahamian authorities had not found any trace of the aircraft.
It was a relative, sailing on a private boat, who found the first body: that of Sofía Sosa.
"What is particularly devastating is that a civilian, one of our own relatives, was the one who found our loved one and had to bring their deceased family member onboard their own vessel. We are shattered and desperate," the family stated in a release.
The four bodies are in police custody in the Bahamas, and the family reported that they are coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard to repatriate the remains.
Mario and Lili Lamar
Mario Lamar was piloting the aircraft. According to his family, he was "an experienced pilot with over 40 years of flying experience."
Her niece Silvi Larreau emphasized that the trip was routine: “My uncle has been a pilot for life, with a lot of experience, and they were taking off as usual, just as he has done his entire life.”
According to the Florida Bar Association, Lamar had been practicing law since 1973 and had a legal office in Miami. Lili Lamar, his wife, completed the couple who were traveling with their grandchildren.
Sofía and Christian Sosa
Sofía Sosa, known as Sofi, worked as a neonatal medical assistant at Kidz Medical Services in Coral Gables.
She graduated in 2016 from Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, an institution that paid tribute to her on social media: "As the Carrollton community, especially our alumnae family, we continue to hold in our hearts and prayers those who have been affected by the tragedy."
His brother Christian Sosa was 22 years old and an independent photographer graduated from the M-School of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Just weeks before the tragedy, he published on LinkedIn about his experience covering the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League: "Being able to photograph in the NFL was surreal. It’s the job my younger self dreamed of while spending summers in Miami photographing training camps as an amateur."
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