MAY 26, 2015
CORAL GABLES, FLA. (WSVN)
Police have confirmed that a body discovered Tuesday morning
is that of a missing boater.
Tuesday evening, officials confirmed 26-year-old Lauren
Jenee Lamar's body was in fact found in the bay area of Matheson Hammocks
Marina.
The body was found in the exact area where several agencies
spent more than 35 hours looking for Lamar. "This morning, at about 20
minutes to 7 a.m., the Coast Guard was notified of a possible deceased body in
the vicinity of Matheson Hammocks Park, just to the north side, shortly behind
where I'm standing," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Mike Cortese. "A small
boat crew that we had come over to confirm the claim, and we did discover that
it is a female that is now unfortunately deceased."
According to officials, Lamar went missing after spending
the day on a boat with 45-year-old Bruce Russell of Miami and 28-year-old
Alicia Bartolota of Winter Gardens. The pair told police, they thought Lamar
was sleeping in the boat's cabin. "The two people were questioned yesterday
together with our missing person's," said Ferrin. "Homicide bureau
was also sitting in on that questioning as well, but they have been released
since that time."
Nicholas Field, Lamar's employer at Miami Club Crawl,
described the 26-year-old as a star employee. "She was a promotional and
sales representative for us.
She worked really hard. She has a bright future.
She was very business-minded," he said.
Officials said the three left the Stiltsville area at 10
p.m. Sunday. The driver did not realize Lamar was missing until returning to
the dock. Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jorge Pino said he was
surprised that the boater never noticed Lamar missing until reaching the dock.
"I don't know if I've ever heard of someone falling off a boat, especially
when there's only three people on board and the two people that are left on
board not realizing what happened," said Pino.