All four members of a South Florida family aboard a small plane that disappeared off the Bahamas were found dead Tuesday after relatives joined the search for the missing aircraft, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

The family members were identified as 80-year-old pilot Mario Lamar, his 79-year-old wife, Lili Lamar, and their grandchildren, Sofi Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22.

The family had been returning to the Miami area after spending the Labor Day weekend at their second home in Great Harbour Cay in the Bahamas.

Silvia Larrieu, a relative of the family, said relatives aboard boats located the bodies Tuesday. The family was working with the U.S. Coast Guard to recover and return their loved ones.

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The aircraft departed Great Harbour Cay, located in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas, Monday morning. It was headed for Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County when authorities lost contact with the plane.

Bahamas police identified the aircraft as a Piper PA-34 five-seat aircraft with the registration number N212ML.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft approximately 13 miles west of Andros Island, which is roughly 150 miles southeast of Miami.

Larrieu said her uncle had more than 40 years of experience as a pilot and regularly traveled between Florida and the Bahamas. He maintained a second home in Great Harbour Cay and was familiar with the route.

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According to Larrieu, Sofi Sosa sent a message to her parents through a family group chat informing them that the family was leaving the Bahamas.

Mario Lamar had also filed a flight plan that provided an expected arrival time in Miami.

Concern grew after family members noticed that messages were no longer being delivered. Authorities were subsequently contacted, and the search began.

Larrieu said Lamar was particularly careful about maintaining the aircraft. She described him as an experienced pilot who routinely checked his plane.

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“This is awful,” she told The Associated Press during a brief phone interview.

The U.S. Coast Guard joined the search after Bahamian authorities requested assistance Monday afternoon.

A Coast Guard aircraft was involved in the search again Tuesday as relatives and civilian boaters also looked for the missing family.

The family later issued a statement thanking those who assisted with the search.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us, searched alongside us, and kept our family in their prayers,” the family said in a statement.

“We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn this unimaginable loss.”

Local reporting said family members and other civilians ultimately located the victims while conducting their own search effort.

The family then coordinated with the Coast Guard regarding the recovery and transportation of the remains.

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The aircraft's disappearance prompted an extensive search in waters around Andros Island. Poor weather complicated portions of the search effort, according to reports.

The crash remains under investigation, and authorities have not publicly established what caused the aircraft to go down.

The family had been returning to South Florida following their Labor Day weekend trip.

According to relatives, traveling between Great Harbour Cay and Florida was familiar to Mario Lamar, who had made the trip numerous times during his decades of flying experience.

The deaths bring a tragic conclusion to a search that began Monday after the aircraft failed to arrive as expected in South Florida.

The incident also drew assistance from members of the public who joined official search efforts by boat. Family members had publicly appealed for help as authorities worked to locate the aircraft and its occupants.

As investigators work to determine what happened during the flight, the family is now focused on bringing their loved ones home and making funeral arrangements.

The four victims were traveling together aboard the small Piper aircraft when it disappeared, leaving relatives initially uncertain about their whereabouts. The discovery Tuesday confirmed that none of the four survived the crash.

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