By Chantal Da Silva -
NBC News
Two people died, including a child, and at least one other is missing, after a small plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, Venice, Florida police said, without revealing the cause of the accident.
Agents launched a search operation Sunday morning after Venice Municipal Airport received an inquiry from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about a Piper Cherokee aircraft that had not returned to its home. point of origin in St. Petersburg, also in Florida, about 60 miles north of Venice, according to local police.
Boats of the authorities during the search operation for the crashed plane in the Gulf of Mexico. Police Department of Venice (Florida) via NBC News
"At around the same time on Sunday, boaters located a deceased female floating in the Gulf about 2.5 miles west of Venice Beach," authorities said in a statement.
Hours later, the wreckage of the Piper Cherokee was found a third of a mile offshore, west of the Venice airport, police said.
The body of a dead child was found in the passenger area of the aircraft by divers from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
[A relative of former Governor Chris Christie injures 6 police officers on a plane after accusing a Latino family of drug trafficking]
Authorities believe there was a third person on board, the pilot or a passenger, who is still missing.
The identity of the victims was not released.
“This is a very active search and investigation,” the Venice Police Department stressed.
The search operation will continue until sunset and will resume "when conditions allow."
