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Third Boat Crash Victim Found On Miami Beach

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A body found on Miami Beach Monday morning is the person who was reported missing after a weekend boat crash, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The body of 28-year-old Jennifer Y Munoz Cadavid of Fort Lauderdale was found not far from where the 32-foot center console boat crashed into Government Cut's north jetty. The crash happened Saturday around 9:30 p.m.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue found two bodies were found at the crash site.

They were identified as 38-year-old Elisaine Colgan and her husband, 56-year-old Christopher Colgan.

They were apparently celebrating Elisaine's birthday - she would have turned 39 on Sunday.

The couple has a son but he was not onboard.

A survivor, identified as 37-year-old Troy Forte of Juno Beach, was pulled from the water and taken to Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition and he is now listed as stable.

"We found one patient that was on the rocks in and out of consciousness," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Andy Alvarez.

Boat Crash
Three people are dead after a boat crash in Government Cut. (Source: CBS4)

This isn't the first time we've seen a tragedy near the jetty.

The crash happened in the same area where Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and two others died in a boat crash in September of 2016.

In light of the two deadly night crashes, the FWC was asked if any safety precautions would be put in place to prevent future tragedies.

"Our hearts and minds go out to the families of this tragedy. We will not be answering any further questions about the investigation, it's too early on. We're not going to go into specifics about the jetty, those questions should be referred to the Army Corps of Engineers as well as the United States Coast Guard," said FWC spokesman Ronald Washington.

In a statement, the U.S. Coast Guard said that after a thorough 2017 study, the Captain of the Port of Miami determined that the current, color-coded buoys at the mouth of Government were sufficient and said additional lights would interfere with existing aids.

The Coast Guard urges boaters to follow the speed limit and navigational rules. Another study in 2015 also said the current buoys were sufficient.

The Miami Beach City Commission in the past has called for additional lights on the jetty.

Former neighbors of the Colgans remembered them fondly.

"They were really nice people. They were renting there so I didn't know them really well but they were nice. They have a teenage kid, they were always out on the boat. He seemed like a pretty good boater, to me actually, teaching his kid to go out on the boat, how to use it safely," said Dee-Ann Leone, a former neighbor of the Colgans.

"I am heartbroken," she told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "To hear that a 16-year-old boy is without his parents. I mean every teenager needs their parents."

Another neighbor, Greg Osipov, said they'd just moved out of their home at Lighthouse Point.

"They were great people, always happy, always on the boat. He used that boat a lot so I presumed they were very experienced boaters," he said.

"The only thing I can think of is that they were out their celebrating the wife's birthday." He said. "It is dark out there. This was terrible. It was a tragedy."

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