Woman’s body found floating near Key West marina, police say. Investigation underway
.jpg "A woman’s body was found floating in the water off Key West Sunday, Jan. 22, 2024, according to her neighbors and the police department. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating her death.")
The body of a woman who lived on her boat just off a Key West marina was found floating in the water Sunday, according to her neighbors and the Key West Police Department.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the agency investigating the case, said the woman’s dinghy was found Sunday with impact damage on part of its hull near Sigsbee Military Campground. Later that day, the woman’s body was found near Fleming Key.
Police have identified her as Bella C. Rose, 61. She was reported missing on Saturday, according to an FWC press release.
Her neighbors, who did not want to be named, said she was last seen Saturday night while riding her dinghy back to her sailboat moored in Garrison Bight, a body of water between Fleming Key and Sigsbee Park in Key West.
The neighbors said the woman planned to sleep in her car parked at the City Marina on Saturday because of windy weather and rough seas. However, staff warned her that she could not spend the night in the vehicle, so she headed back out to her vessel.
But, Alyson Crean, spokeswoman for the city of Key West, said Wednesday that marina management interviewed security staff in the days following Rose’s death, and they said they never encountered anyone at the marina that night sleeping in their car.
The Keys were under a small craft advisory all weekend, with sustained winds between 20 and 25 mph and seas up to 9 feet, according to the National Weather Service Key West.
People living on their boats in Garrison Bight pay the city around $420 a month, which includes access to a mooring ball — which anchors the vessels — a parking space and using the marina’s laundry and shower facilities, the neighbors said.
There are about 150 boats moored at Garrison Bight, according to the city of Key West’s website.
It’s one of the few affordable living options for people working in the tourism-dependent Southernmost City, where monthly rental costs for even the smallest one-bedroom dwelling can soar past $2,000. But two of the neighbors who spoke with the Herald said the city was not accommodating when it comes to allowing liveaboards to seek safety in the face of dangerous weather.
“I pay my taxes. I support the local economy just as much as the person who lives on land, but, we’re treated differently,” one of the neighbors said.
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 8:28 PM.
