Three dead, child missing after boat flips with 8 people aboard, Florida rescuers say

Three people are dead and a child remains missing after a boat flipped in the dark on North Florida’s St. Johns River, according to the searchers.

Eight people were aboard when the mishap occurred around 8 p.m. Friday, March 21, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a news release.

The three recovered bodies include a child. Their identities of the dead have not been released.

The search for bodies began after someone reported seeing “an overturned 18-foot vessel with four people on top ... and an additional four people possibly underneath,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The four people on top of the vessel were rescued by a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office marine unit, and one person was recovered from the water unresponsive,” the USCG said. “No one aboard the vessel was reportedly wearing life jackets.”

A USCG diver searched under the vessel but found no one, officials said.

The USCG says its air-and-sea search covered “more than 270 square miles” before activities were suspended.

The body of one of the adults was found Sunday evening, and the body of another child on the boat was found early Monday, west of the Dames Point Bridge, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officials said.

A search for the missing child is now being led by the FWC, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Clay County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.

Details of what caused the boat to overturn have not been released.

This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Three dead, child missing after boat flips with 8 people aboard, Florida rescuers say."