Body Found in Search for Family Missing off Florida Coast
— -- A body was found Wednesday afternoon during search and rescue efforts in the Gulf of Mexico for a father and his three teenage children, who have been missing since Sunday.
Around 4:30 p.m., rescuers located a body that had a life jacket on, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a press conference. The body was recovered by helicopter and taken to be identified, according to the Coast Guard.
Personal items believed to belong to the family, including a marine red signal flare, water jugs and life vests, were located off the coast of Sanibel, Florida, the Coast Guard wrote on Twitter.
Rescue crews today located two kayaks believed to belong the missing family, who disappeared Sunday off the western coast of Florida after the boat they live on disappeared.
The search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
The Coast Guard began searching Tuesday for Ace Kimberly and his children, Rebecca, Donald and Roger, after a concerned relative contacted authorities. Kimberly's brother told the Coast Guard that the four family members had at least seven life jackets on their 29-foot sailboat, which they live on, and were towing two kayaks.
Earlier today, rescue crews recovered other items 33 nautical miles off the coast of Sanibel Island, Florida, near Fort Meyers, which are believed to belong to the family, including four water bottles, six life jackets, tennis shoes, a basketball and a propane tank, the Coast Guard said.
The kayaks were found near the debris field.
The family left Sarasota at 7 a.m. Sunday en route to Fort Myers for boat repairs. At about 3 p.m. Sunday, the missing man called his brother to say the boat was in 6-foot seas near Englewood, 30 miles from Sarasota.
The father has full custody of the children and is separated from their mother, the children's aunt, Sadie Dilts, told ABC News. Dilts said her sister -- the children's mother -- who lives in Indiana, is on her way to Florida today.
