Investigators have located a boat that may have struck and killed the 15-year-old granddaughter of a US diplomat near Key Biscayne, Florida, on Saturday, authorities said.
The boat fits the description of the one that hit Ella Adler, and is in custody, authorities said on Tuesday. The boat’s owner is cooperating with the investigation, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said.
The vessel didn’t stop after striking the teenager, and a $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Ella, the granddaughter of US Ambassador to Belgium Michael M. Adler, fell into the water near Nixon Beach in Miami-Dade County while waterskiing and was struck by a boat at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, a news release from the fish and wildlife commission said.
Ella was a “star” and “force of nature,” who was a ballerina with the Miami City Ballet, “proud to be Jewish,” and a member of the Ransom Everglades Jewish Students Association, an obituary states.
“We are heartbroken,” the Ransom Everglades School said in a post on Facebook.
“Ella Adler ’27 shined in our classrooms and on our stages, and she embodied the mission of Ransom Everglades School. We wish peace and comfort to her family,” the post added.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Adler family at this difficult time,” the US Embassy to Belgium said in a statement. “Out of respect for their privacy, we have nothing further.”
The boat that struck the teen was “described as a center console boat with a light blue hull. It has multiple white outboard engines and may have blue or dark blue bottom paint,” the wildlife commission said. Officials had also said it was last seen “heading westbound from Nixon Beach in Key Biscayne.”
Anyone who has video footage of the incident or information is asked to call the Wildlife Alert Hotline or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers. Witness descriptions were helpful in locating the boat they have in custody, authorities said.
“The world lost a star this weekend. Ella was beautiful and shined brightly,” the family said in a statement through their attorney, Etan Mark, shared with CNN affiliate WFOR. “In her 15 years, she gave us more light than we could have ever dreamed. While we cope with this unspeakable tragedy, we ask the public to give us our privacy as we mourn.”