A Florida family of four was found dead Tuesday after the small plane carrying them disappeared while traveling from the Bahamas toward Miami. The aircraft was being piloted by 80-year-old Mario Lamar, who was traveling with his 79-year-old wife, Lili Lamar, and their two grandchildren, 28-year-old Sofi Sosa and 22-year-old Christian Sosa. The family had been returning to South Florida after spending the Labor Day weekend at the couple’s home in Great Harbour Cay in the Bahamas. Their plane disappeared near Andros Island, within the area commonly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle, before relatives eventually located the wreckage and recovered the bodies.
Family of Four Disappears While Returning to Miami
The five-seat Piper PA-34 aircraft departed from Great Harbour Cay in the Bahamas at around 11:15 a.m. Monday, carrying Mario Lamar, his wife Lili, and their grandchildren Sofi and Christian Sosa. The family was traveling toward Miami Executive Airport in Florida, where they were expected to arrive after the flight across the waters between the Bahamas and South Florida. According to relatives, the trip was part of the family’s regular travel between the Bahamas and Florida, as Mario and Lili owned a home in Great Harbour Cay and frequently traveled between the two locations. The flight, however, never reached its destination.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft at around 11:04 a.m., according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The plane was reported to be approximately 13 miles west of Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas, when communication was lost. After the aircraft failed to arrive as expected and family members could no longer contact those aboard, relatives alerted authorities and began searching for the missing plane. The disappearance prompted a search operation involving Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The area where the aircraft disappeared is within the region widely known as the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the western North Atlantic that has become associated with stories of unexplained disappearances involving aircraft and ships. The location added an additional layer of attention to the incident, although authorities have not indicated that anything mysterious or unusual was responsible for the crash. The available information points to a plane that disappeared during its journey near Andros Island, with the circumstances surrounding the crash still under investigation.
The family had reportedly been enjoying the Labor Day weekend at their home in Great Harbour Cay before beginning their journey back to South Florida. Before takeoff, Sofi Sosa sent a message to her parents in a family group chat informing them that they were leaving. Her uncle had also filed a flight plan showing when the aircraft was expected to reach South Florida, according to Silvia Larrieu, Mario Lamar’s niece, who spoke with the Associated Press. The expected arrival time passed, but the aircraft never appeared in Miami.
🚨 NOW: Four members of a Florida family were killed in a plane crash off the Bahamas. Relatives found them today and had to bring their loved ones aboard their own boats.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) September 8, 2026
Pilot Mario Lamar, 80. Wife Lily, 79. Grandchildren Sophie Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22.… pic.twitter.com/OeJkuvUTxp
The disappearance quickly became a matter of concern for the family because Mario Lamar was known as an experienced pilot. Relatives told media outlets that he had more than 40 years of flying experience and regularly made trips between South Florida and the Bahamas. Family members also described him as a cautious pilot who carefully maintained his aircraft. His extensive experience and familiarity with the route made the sudden disappearance particularly devastating for those who knew him.
Search Leads to Wreckage Near Andros Island
After the plane disappeared, the Royal Bahamas Police Force requested assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday afternoon. Authorities had received information that the aircraft may have crashed near Red Bays on North Andros. The search operation was initially made more difficult by poor weather conditions in the area. Officials and relatives continued efforts to locate the aircraft as concern grew over the four people aboard.
Rather than waiting for the search to end, members of the family also joined the effort to find their missing relatives. On Tuesday, relatives searching by boat eventually located the wreckage of the aircraft. They recovered the four bodies while working with the Coast Guard, bringing an end to the search but confirming the family’s worst fears. The discovery meant that Mario and Lili Lamar and their grandchildren, Sofi and Christian Sosa, had all died in the crash.
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The family later confirmed the deaths in a statement shared with ABC News. Relatives said they had located their loved ones and had to bring them aboard their own vessel. The search had become a deeply personal effort for those closest to the family, who were determined to find out what had happened after the aircraft disappeared.
Silvia Larrieu, Mario Lamar’s niece, spoke about the tragedy with the Associated Press, describing the incident simply as awful. The family had been waiting for the aircraft to arrive safely in Florida, but instead relatives found themselves involved in a search for the people they had expected to welcome home. The circumstances made the discovery particularly painful because the four victims had been traveling together as a family.
The crash occurred near Andros Island, which is the largest island in the Bahamas. The island forms part of the Bahamian archipelago and is located in the western part of the Bahamas. The area around Andros is surrounded by waters used by aircraft and boats traveling between the Bahamas and Florida. The aircraft’s disappearance in this region has drawn attention because of its location within the broader area popularly known as the Bermuda Triangle.
Despite the location, authorities have not announced any evidence connecting the crash to the legends surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle has for decades been the subject of stories about missing ships and aircraft, but the disappearance and crash of this particular plane remain an aviation incident under investigation. Investigators will need to determine what caused the Piper PA-34 to crash and why communication with the aircraft was lost before it reached Miami.
The search also came less than two months after another deadly plane crash in North Andros that reportedly killed 10 people. That earlier incident had already brought attention to aviation safety in the area, making the latest crash another major tragedy for the Bahamas and the families involved.
Investigation Continues as Family Mourns
The victims were identified by the Royal Bahamas Police Force as Mario Lamar, 80, Lili Lamar, 79, Sofi Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22. Mario and Lili were the grandparents of Sofi and Christian, and all four were traveling together aboard the Piper PA-34 when the aircraft disappeared. The family’s trip had begun in Great Harbour Cay, where Mario and Lili owned a home, and was supposed to end at Miami Executive Airport.
For relatives, the tragedy has raised painful questions about how an experienced pilot and a family aircraft could disappear during a route Mario had reportedly traveled many times. Family members said Lamar had more than four decades of flying experience and was meticulous about maintaining his aircraft. Those who knew him described him as a careful pilot, making the sudden loss particularly difficult to understand while the investigation remains underway.
The exact cause of the crash has not been publicly established. Officials have not announced what happened to the aircraft during the final part of its journey or what caused it to go down near Andros Island. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the flight, the aircraft and the events leading up to the crash as they work to determine what happened.
The fact that relatives located the wreckage themselves added another heartbreaking dimension to the incident. Family members had been searching by boat after authorities were notified that the aircraft was missing. Their search eventually led them to the crash site, where the four victims were recovered with assistance from the Coast Guard.
In their statement to ABC News, the family expressed gratitude to everyone who helped in the search and supported them during the difficult hours after the plane disappeared. They thanked those who searched alongside them and those who kept the family in their prayers. The relatives also asked for privacy as they mourned what they described as an unimaginable loss.
The deaths of Mario and Lili Lamar and their grandchildren have left a family grieving after what was expected to be a routine return flight to South Florida. Mario’s long experience as a pilot, the family’s familiarity with travel between the Bahamas and Florida, and the fact that the aircraft disappeared before reaching Miami have made the incident especially difficult for relatives and those who knew the family. With the wreckage now located and the four victims recovered, attention will turn to the investigation into the crash and the circumstances that caused the aircraft to disappear near Andros Island.