HALF MOON BAY — A third body has been recovered near the site of a plane crash that killed four people in mid-January off the coast of Half Moon Bay, according to media reports.
The identity and gender of the person’s remains are still unclear, leaving uncertain whether they belonged to the pilot or one of three passengers killed in the Jan. 14 crash.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery to TV news outlets Monday.
A harbormaster found the body in the water just before 11 a.m. Sunday, KGO-TV reported.
The grisly discovery comes roughly two weeks after the four-seat plane piloted by 27-year-old Lochie Ferrier — an experienced test pilot who built the aircraft himself using pre-built kits — fell into the Pacific Ocean nearly two hours after sunset. Wreckage from the Cozy MK IV aircraft later washed ashore and was recovered by authorities.
The plane crash was first reported shortly after 7 p.m. Jan. 14 when a witness alerted authorities to the sight of a small propeller plane flying erratically near Half Moon Bay Airport and Moss Beach Distillery, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The caller reportedly heard the engine sputter out before the aircraft fell out of sight.
The body of Emma Willmer-Shiles, 27, was recovered the day after the crash. A week and a half later, authorities recovered the remains of Cassidy Rae Petit, 26, who lived in Oakland and had recently moved from Vermont. She was engaged to Ferrier and had planned to marry him on Jan. 28. Instead, their relatives held memorials for them that day in and around Burlington, Vermont, where the two met.
Also killed was Willmer-Shiles’ partner, Isaac Zimmern, 27, of San Francisco.
A reason for the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is expected to issue its preliminary findings by mid-February.