A search and rescue mission is underway in the Bahamas the morning of Sept. 8 after a small plane carrying four American family members failed to land in southeast Florida on Labor Day.
The U.S. Coast Guard Southeast division, in a post on X one day earlier, said it was assisting the Royal Bahamian Defense Force following a report of a downed aircraft with "four souls onboard" approximately 15 miles off Andros Island.
The Coast Guard said it had coordinated the launch of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry to assist Bahamian authorities with the search after the plane disappeared on Sept. 7.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-34 Seneca, was scheduled to land at Miami Executive Airport in Southwest Miami-Dade after taking off from Great Harbour Cay.
Flight Aware data shows
the plane was last spotted on radar around 11 a.m. local time.
The data also shows the aircraft loop away from severe weather it approached in its path.
Bahamian police confirmed air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft, the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Relative: Grandparents, two grandchildren were on board missing plane
A family member identified the missing Americans as pilot Mario Lamar, 80, his wife, Lili Lamar, 79, and two of their grandchildren, Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22, the Miami Herald reported, and said they were slated to return to the United States on Sept. 7.
Silvia Larrieu, a niece of the Lamars, said the family had a home on Great Harbour Cay and had spent the Labor Day weekend on the island.
“They’ve spent their whole life going there. That’s like their second home,” the newspaper reported Larrieu said. “I ask anybody out there, if you can help with search and rescue efforts, we would greatly appreciate it. We need to bring them home.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamian Defense Force for more information.
This is a developing story.
Contributing: Michelle Spitzer with Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Search underway for 4 Americans family after plane vanishes in Bahamas
