2 boaters were found dead off Key West. The sheriff’s office is investigating
Two Florida Keys residents were found dead this week after they didn’t return from a boat trip off Key West.
The body of Elizabeth Estrada Cottar, 59, of Key West, was found by her son at Jewfish Basin on Monday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday, David Cottar, 60, of Key Haven, was found in the same area by a fisherman in very shallow water.
The sheriff’s office is investigating both deaths.
A man notified the Coast Guard at 9:20 a.m. Monday that his parents were overdue, said Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a spokeswoman for the agency.
He also told them that he had found his mother’s body, Groll said.
“The boat was apparently anchored,” Groll said. “That basin is shallow enough it kind of goes dry. He was able to walk out to the boat.”
She had no additional information about the death.
David Cottar was last seen in a white 17-foot Boston Whaler at Jewfish Basin, a popular fishing spot in the backcountry waters off Key West.
The two had left the day before from David Cottar’s Key Haven home.
A relative went searching for them Monday after they didn’t return from a sunset cruise, a common activity for the pair, said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
“A family member went out this morning looking and found the vessel the male owned and the dead female nearby,” Linhardt said on Monday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes unit at 305-289-2410.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 4:18 PM.
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