The body has not been identified, but authorities said they are now searching for three members of the Kimberly family.
Earlier in the day, they found debris, a tarp, life jackets, water gallon jugs, and shoes off Sanibel Island near the search area where a father, Ace Kimberly, and his children Roger Kimberly, 13, Donny Kimberly, 15, and Rebecca Kimberly, 15, disappeared.
The Kimberly family was last seen Sunday afternoon while boating on a 29-foot sailboat near Englewood, Florida, authorities said.
A family member confirmed that debris belonged to the missing family, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said they also found two kayaks.
“We are doing everything we can and throwing everything we have at this search at this time,” said Captain Gregory Case of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard told Channel 9 the 29-foot sailboat the family was on needed some work.
“The vessel was not in the best of shape, and they were taking it down there, so the brother could help them work on it,” said Case.
Ace Kimberley called his brother for help.
“His brother said he was experiencing rough seas and thunderstorms, and he was worried and he wanted his brother to send him some weather reports, that's the last he heard of him,” said Case.
Ace Kimberley’s brother called the Coast Guard Tuesday night to report them missing.
The father and his children left Sarasota at 7 a.m. Sunday en route to Fort Myers to repair the sailboat. The family was living on the boat the past year in Sarasota.
“We are always hopeful, and we do everything we can for as long as we can,” Case said.
The Coast Guard asked mariners to keep a sharp lookout and contact Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg at 727-824-7506 with any information about the whereabouts of the missing family.
The wife and the teens' mother have been notified about the search efforts.
The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress call.
It will continue searching into the night and the next update will be at 10 a.m. Thursday.
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