Body found in San Francisco Bay as crews continue recovery efforts for sunken boat, missing passengers

A body was found in San Francisco Bay on Thursday afternoon as crews continued efforts to recover three people missing in the sinking of a boat near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday.

The San Francisco Police Department said at approximately 1:02 p.m., officers assigned to a marine unit were conducting sonar scanning for the sunken boat when a passing vessel alerted them of a body in the water west of Treasure Island, located at the midpoint of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  

Police said the body was recovered but would not confirm whether the person was one of the passengers aboard the sunken vessel. The city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would determine the person's identity after notifying the family, police said.

Twenty people were aboard the Stockton, California-based Volare on Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco Bay when the 49-foot cabin cruiser capsized and sank about 600 yards from Alcatraz. One person died of his injuries and three others were missing and presumed dead after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended search efforts on Wednesday evening.

Earlier Thursday, the San Francisco Police Department said its marine unit, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other partners were working to locate the vessel, which is at an estimated depth of 120 feet on a rocky seabed in an area of the bay with strong tidal currents along with wind and weather challenges.

Crews are using multiple boat-mounted sonar platforms and other tools to conduct a grid search for the vessel. Once the vessel has been located, the agencies determine whether a recovery operation will be feasable, police said.

This is a breaking news update. More information to be added as available.