Hit-and-run boat that killed Florida teen ballerina may have been found. What we know

UPDATE: FWC officers have identified a boat that matches the description. The owner is cooperating.

Authorities may have found the boat that struck and killed a teen girl waterskiing off the coast in South Florida on Saturday, May 11, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Officials said Ella Riley Adler, 15, a ballerina with the Miami Ballet, was being towed behind a yacht near the Nixon Beach Sandbar in Biscayne Bay when she fell into the water and was struck by another boat. The boat sped off to the west.

"I am pleased to report that we have a vessel in custody that matches the description given by witnesses and the investigation is ongoing,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “As a father and grandfather, my heart is broken for the Adler family. Ella’s death is devastating for her family, friends and the community at large. The FWC and our partner law enforcement agencies will not stop until we have all the answers and the case is solved.”

The vessel is in custody and its owner is cooperating with the investigation, the FWC said in a release.

The boat was described in the initial FWC release as a center console boat with a light blue hull, three or four white outboard engines and possibly blue or dark blue bottom paint.

Investigators said it was unclear if the driver of the boat knew she was there or was hit.

Witnesses or anyone with video footage or information should contact the FWC at 888-404-FWCC or 888-404-3922 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS or 305-471-8477.

A total reward of up to $20,000 — $10,000 from Adler's family and a combined $10,000 from FWC and Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers — is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and successful prosecution of the driver of the hit-and-run boat incident.

Who is Ella Riley Adler of Florida?

Ella Adler was a freshman at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove and a ballerina with the Miami City Ballet. She is the granddaughter of Michael M. Adler, the current U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, according to the Miami Herald.

"We are heartbroken," the school said in a Facebook post Monday morning. "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."

Adler appeared in more than 100 performances with the Miami Ballet, including "The Nutcracker," according to her Legacy.com obituary. In school, she performed on the dance team, acted in the school play "Chicago" and was a member of the Ransom Everglades Jewish Students Association.

Miami City Ballet praised Adler in a statement: “Ella Adler was not just a beloved student and a magnificent dancer who graced our stage in George Balanchine’s 'The Nutcracker,' she was an integral part of our family, radiating potential and promise whose kindness, warmth, and infectious joy were known to all.“

"You were taken from us way too soon, and the world has been robbed of all the things you could have achieved," her father, Matthew, wrote in a letter read during a funeral service at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach on Monday, the Miami Herald reported. "But you will always be here with us and your friends and family will carry your energy and spirit forever.”

Adler is survived by her parents Amanda and Matthew, her brother Jaden, and her sister Adalynn, grandparents Judy and Ambassador Michael M. Adler, and Susan and Michael Klaiman, along with several aunts, uncles and cousins.

What happened in the boating death of Ella Adler?

At about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, (the day before Mother's Day) by the Nixon Beach Sandbar in Biscayne Bay near Miami, the 15-year-old dancer had been waterskiing behind a gray yacht and was being towed when she fell into the water. She was wearing a life jacket and had a board still attached to her feet, an FWC official told NBC6 in Miami.

A witness said the boat did not appear to swerve or slow down when it hit the girl. The yacht towing her immediately spun around back to where she was and began broadcasting distress calls, the witness told NBC6.

Where was Ella Adler killed? Where is Nixon Beach Sandbar in Florida?

The Nixon Beach Sandbar is located in Biscayne Bay, Florida, west of Hurricane Harbor near Miami.

It's a popular destination for recreational boaters and fishing for its white sands and clear shallow waters, and it "turns into a wild party spot every weekend" full of yachts and catamarans, according to the boating site sail.me.

The area was named for former president Richard M. Nixon, who owned a home overlooking the water nearby.

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ballerina Ella Adler killed by hit-and-run boat near Miami, Florida