Boat behind Gables home seized in crash that killed Ransom Everglades student, FWC says

David Goodhue, Grethel Aguila, David J. Neal
·3 min read
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Investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Tuesday located a boat in Coral Gables that they say fits the description of the boat that struck and killed a 15-year-old Ransom Everglades student off Key Biscayne’s Nixon Beach last weekend.

The boat was docked on Tuesday behind the home of Carlos and Magaly Alonso, the homeowners at 11025 Tanya St. in the Gables waterfront neighborhood of Hammock Oaks, which abuts Matheson Hammock Park and is just south of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

A boat docked behind a Coral Gables home, at 11025 Tanya St., was seized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Tuesday. Investigators say the boat fits the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler, 15, a Ransom Everglades freshman, off Key Biscayne on Saturday.
A boat docked behind a Coral Gables home, at 11025 Tanya St., was seized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Tuesday. Investigators say the boat fits the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler, 15, a Ransom Everglades freshman, off Key Biscayne on Saturday.

FWC investigators seized the boat Tuesday afternoon; they have not identified the boat’s driver nor have they said the boat belongs to the Alonsos. Database searches of boating records show at least one child of the Alonsos owns or has owned a boat.

This overhead photo from Dec. 30 shows 11025 Tanya St. and a boat behind it with four outboard motors. FWC’s description of the boat involved in the tragedy said it had “multiple white outboard engines.”
This overhead photo from Dec. 30 shows 11025 Tanya St. and a boat behind it with four outboard motors. FWC’s description of the boat involved in the tragedy said it had “multiple white outboard engines.”

“Using a description provided by witnesses, the search for the striking vessel began immediately. As of May 14, FWC officers have identified a vessel that fits the description and it is in their custody. The owner of the vessel is cooperating with the investigation,” the FWC said in a statement Tuesday.

View of the Coral Gables home at 11025 Tanya St. where police say a boat matching the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler near Nixon Beach Sandbar on Saturday was located and seized from the deck in the home back canal, in Coral Gables, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
View of the Coral Gables home at 11025 Tanya St. where police say a boat matching the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler near Nixon Beach Sandbar on Saturday was located and seized from the deck in the home back canal, in Coral Gables, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

Law-enforcement officials had been looking for the boat since the crash.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers exit the Coral Gables home at 11025 Tanya St., where police say a boat matching the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler near Nixon Beach Sandbar on Saturday was seized in Coral Gables, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers exit the Coral Gables home at 11025 Tanya St., where police say a boat matching the description of the vessel that struck and killed Ella Adler near Nixon Beach Sandbar on Saturday was seized in Coral Gables, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

The boat, according to FWC, is a center console boat with a light blue hull and has multiple white outboard engines. The boat has four outboard motors, according to a photo of the boat on the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s website.

Ella was a freshman at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove and a ballerina in more than 100 productions of “The Nutcracker,” at the Miami City Ballet. She was the granddaughter of Michael Adler, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. Michael Adler was formerly president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and vice chair of the Florida International University Board of Trustees.

Ella Riley Adler, 15, was killed in a hit-and-run boat crash off Key Biscayne, Florida, on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Ella Riley Adler, 15, was killed in a hit-and-run boat crash off Key Biscayne, Florida, on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

READ MORE: Girl killed in hit-and-run boat crash off Key Biscayne was a Ransom Everglades student

“...You were taken from us way to soon, and the world has been robbed of all the things you could have achieved,” her father Matthew Adler said in a letter read at Ella’s funeral service Monday morning at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach. “But you will always be here with us and your friends and family will carry your energy and spirit forever.”

In a statement released Tuesday, FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said that officers from various law enforcement agencies — and FWC investigators from other parts of the state — have been working around the clock to find the vessel involved in the incident.

READ MORE: Girl killed near Key Biscayne’s Nixon Beach. The famed attraction isn’t a stranger to danger

“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,” Barreto said. “The FWC and our partner law enforcement agencies will not stop until we have all the answers and the case is solved.”

Anyone with information about the incident — or with video footage from the scene — should call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers and FWC are offering $5,000 and Ella’s family $10,000 for any information leading to an arrest.