Coast Guard suspends search for missing Sarasota family

SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard said during a news conference Saturday that it suspended its active search for a missing Sarasota family that disappeared off the coast of Englewood.

The search effort for the Kimberly family ended Saturday at noon, officials said.

"I made the very difficult decision to suspend the active search operations for the Kimberly family," Capt. Gregory Case said. "It is with a heavy heart and sincere condolences to the family and friends that I do this. This is probably the most difficult decision I ever have to make in this position."

The Coast Guard and other agencies spent 250 hours conducting more than 100 searches covering nearly 34,000 square miles.

Ace Kimberly, 45, and his three teenagers -- Rebecca Kimberly, 17, Donald Kimberly, 15, and Roger Kimberly, 13 -- were last heard from late Sunday afternoon after they departed Sarasota on their 29-foot sailboat.

The family was traveling from Sarasota to visit Ace Kimberly’s brother in Fort Myers to do some repairs on the boat.

They ran into rough weather as they headed south Sunday afternoon.

While they were passing Englewood around 3 p.m., Ace Kimberly called his brother by cellphone, saying he was battling 6-foot waves and asking for help with weather reports, officials said.

His brother lost contact after that. He reported the family missing to the Coast Guard some time on Tuesday.

Searchers found a body late Wednesday afternoon about 40 miles southwest of Sanibel Island. A second body and part of a sailboat were found Thursday morning during the search.

The second body was found 4 miles southeast of where the first body was found.

The Coast Guard has not released the identity of either body found, but has transported the bodies to the local authorities for identification. News organizations reported Thursday that family members confirmed the first body was that of Rebecca Kimberly.

On Thursday morning, searchers found a bucket containing the family’s birth certificates, a GPS, a wallet, two cellphones, cigarettes, a tool box and a foam pool noodle.

"We never received a distress call from the family," said Coast Guard Capt. Gregory Case during Wednesday morning’s press conference. The Coast Guard along with local and state agencies have been combing the Southwest Florida waters looking for the missing family.

The Coast Guard found several personal items including six life jackets, four water bottles, a propane tank, a tarp, a pair of shoes and a basketball. They also found two kayaks, which the family had been towing behind the boat.

Early Thursday morning, a Jayhawk crew and a 45-foot Response Boat crew reported seeing a white flare during their search.

Along with the bucket, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft located a sailboat mast 101 miles offshore of Fort Myers and the Coast Guard was en route to investigate the finding.

Cox Media Group