Bodies Of Missing Father And Daughter Recovered From Bay

On Sunday, April 5th, Phillip Burke and his eight-year-old daughter Tara headed out on the bay in their 17-foot vessel with a raft attached to the stern. Burke had promised to spend a day on the water with his daughter since an earlier trip had to be canceled due to a flat tire on his boat trailer. They left Black Point Marina, located adjacent to the park’s boundary, around 4 p.m. Later that night, the Coast Guard was notified that they were overdue. A major air and water search was launched that involved rangers, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers, Miami-Dade police and fire and rescue personnel and Coral Gables police. Burke’s vessel was found at daybreak the next day near the mangrove coastline, with the keys in the ignition, the engine off and the shifter in neutral. All his belongings were on board, including life vests. Chief ranger Didier Carod and rangers Jared Brierley, Robert Romer and Evan Pickford searched every corner of the park for Burke and his daughter with the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents with full diving gear. Burke’s body was found around noon by a citizen. A second body was spotted nearby from a Coast Guard helicopter and park staff responded. The ICE agents entered the water and recovered eight-year-old Tara Burke’s body. Autopsies are being performed to determine cause of death. Neither the girl nor the father was wearing a life jacket.