Family members of 4 Miami residents found dead after small plane goes missing off Bahamas react to their deaths

Family members of four Miami residents who died after their small plane went missing near the Bahamas are speaking out about the search and their loss. 

Silvi Larrieu, the niece of pilot Mario Lamar, told CBS News Miami that two civilian boats left Miami to help look for the missing plane, and a relative found one of the bodies.

"We are making a plea for anyone who can go out there and join this search and rescue mission and help us find the other 3 relatives. We need to find them. We need peace, and we need to make sure they are going to be ok," Larrieu said before the family learned all four had been found.

Larrieu said the family did not know what happened to the plane. She described the morning they left Great Harbour Cay as beautiful and said her uncle was happy and speaking to people at the airport.

"It would mean the world to us to find them. This is our family. We are desperate, and we need answers, and we want them home safe," Larrieu said.

She said her uncle, Mario Lamar, had an apartment in Great Harbour Cay and had made the flight many times without any problems. "They would fly all the time. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary. My uncle filed a flight plan so we had an approximate time when they would land at Miami Executive Airport," Larrieu said.

She described Lamar as a very experienced pilot with over 40 years of flying. "He was very conservative. When he was here, when he was not flying, he would spend his week at the hangar with his plane, checking it for maintenance. It was in pristine condition," she said.

The Royal Bahamas Defense Force said a family member located all four bodies.

The family released a statement confirming the deaths of Mario Lamar, 80, his wife Lili Lamar, 79, and their grandchildren Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22. They said relatives who joined the search located the bodies and brought them aboard their own vessels.

"We are now in communication and working with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring our loved ones home safely and with dignity. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us, searched alongside us, and kept our family in their prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn this unimaginable loss," the family said in a statement.

The cause of the crash has not been determined. The family said they are working with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring their loved ones home.