1 found deceased after 4 family members flying from Bahamas to Florida in small plane go missing

One person has been found deceased after a plane carrying four Florida family members disappeared off the coast of the Bahamas, a family member told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard has joined the search for the aircraft that authorities in the Bahamas believe "crash-landed" in the ocean after departing from Great Harbour Cay on Monday. Pilot Mario Lamar, 80, his wife Lili, 79, and two of their grandchildren, Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22, were identified by family as those on board the PA-34 Piper five-seater aircraft that was heading to Opa-locka, Florida.

"Our family is desperately pleading for help from the public, local boaters, fishermen, and anyone who may be able to assist in searching the waters for our missing family members," Silvia Larrieu, the niece of Mario and Lamar, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "At this time, one of our family members has been found deceased. Out of respect for our loved one and our family’s privacy, we are not releasing the individual’s name at this time."

"What is especially devastating is that a civilian, one of our own family members, was the person who located our loved one and had to bring their deceased relative onto their own boat," she added. "We are heartbroken and desperate. As of this moment, we are not aware of authorities actively searching the waters for our remaining missing family members. We are begging for help."

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for comment.

Larrieu told the Miami Herald that the family was coming home to Florida after visiting a vacation property in Great Harbour Cay over Labor Day weekend and that "they’ve spent their whole life going there." Data from the website FlightAware showed the plane descended from 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet in about three minutes before vanishing from radar.

Larrieu also said to the newspaper that Mario Lamar had years of experience as a pilot and always kept the aircraft in "pristine" shape.

U.S. Coast Guard Southeast said Monday it was assisting authorities in the Bahamas "following a report of a downed aircraft with four souls on board approx 15 mi off Andros Island," with a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane joining the search.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said it received a report around 2:20 p.m. on Monday "that an aircraft may have gone down in the waters off Red Bays."

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It added that air traffic control "confirmed that a PA-34 Piper five-seater aircraft, bearing tail number N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay at approximately 11:12 a.m., en route to Opa-locka, Florida."

"Air traffic control subsequently lost contact with the aircraft approximately 13 miles west of Andros Island," the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.

"The Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) advised that the United States Coast Guard had attempted to search the area for the missing aircraft," police also said. "However, due to inclement weather, the search was postponed until conditions became favorable."