SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Coast Guard officials said they found a yellow kayak that fits the description of the one the family was towing on the back of the boat. The kayak was found at 1:15 a.m.
At 2:30 a.m., they spotted a flare that potentially offers some hope despite the fact a body was found yesterday.
During the 10 a.m press conference, officials said they also found a bucket that contains a GPS, cell phone, birth certificates and a tool box.
Out of respect for the family, they are not releasing information on the body that was found last night.
The search and rescue remains active and there is still hope of finding survivors.
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SARASOTA, Fla. -- The U.S. Coast Guard says it found one body off the coast of Sanibel but has yet to confirm if it could be one of the four family members who have been missing since leaving Sarasota Bay Sunday morning.
45-year old Ace Kimberly and his three teenagers headed south to Ft. Myers where his brother would work on the boat. But they hit bad weather around Englewood. Kimberly called his brother for a weather report.
They never arrived Sunday, and the brother waited two days to report them missing.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard found a field of debris 33 miles offshore of Lee County including six life jackets and several other personal items that the Guard said Wednesday night is believed to belong to the missing family.
The mother of the children raced to Florida from Indiana. An aunt of the children told ABC News "She said she was on her way down there, and she will find her kids come hell or high water."
Back on Sarasota Bay, workers in the dockmaster's office say they don't recognize the Kimberly family. The manager of the mooring field said often times those who anchor for free outside the mooring field don't have the most dependable boats.
"Usually if you're pinching those kinds of pennies, you're also not able to spend a whole lot of money on keeping up with your boat and maintaining the boat, so forth. Those boats are usually in rougher condition than the mooring field boats for sure," said Dan Myers.
The Coast Guard says the next press briefing is scheduled for 10am Thursday.
