MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search Thursday for a prominent New York businesswoman and three others, including two children, after the plane on which they were traveling disappeared on flight from Puerto Rico to Florida.
Nathan Ulrich, Jennifer Blumin and her 3-year-old and 4-year-old sons were on the twin-engine MU-2B plane Monday when Miami air traffic controllers lost radar and radio contact with them about 37 miles east of Eleuthera, Bahamas.
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Blumin, 40, was founder and CEO of Skylight Group, which provides event space around New York City, specializing in the fashion industry.
"This was a swift and significant loss and its impact has reverberated through everyone that participated in the search," Christopher Eddy, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard, said in a statement. "Our hearts and prayers go out to all of the families involved."
Crew searched for more than 75 hours for the four people and covered more than 11,140 square miles, an area larger than the state of Massachusetts.
The U.S. Air Force, Customs and Border Patrol and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force also assisted with the search.
A debris field believed to be from the plane was found Tuesday about 15 miles east of Eleuthera.
The plane departed Borinquen, Puerto Rico, at about 11 a.m. Monday en route to Titusville.
A National Transportation Safety Board accident investigator has been assigned to this case to determine the probable cause of this accident.