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Body of missing boat crash victim found off Marco

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The body of 20-year-old James Molter of Naples was found at about 1:30 p.m. today by a dive team of the Collier County Sheriff's Office near the location of Saturday's accident off Marco Island that took the lives of his mother, sister and sister's fiance.

James Molter's 2002 Gulf Coast High School Yearbook photo

James Molter's 2002 Gulf Coast High School Yearbook photo

The body was taken to the sheriff's substation on Marco Island and transported to the Collier County Medical Examiner's Office.

Dani Moschella, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the lead agency for the investigation of the crash, said that she could not confirm a report that Molter's body showed signs of trauma when it was found.

The FWC won't know whether the impact of the accident or drowning was the cause of death until the Collier County Medical Examiner's Office releases the autopsy report. Moschella said she believed that autopsies had been performed on Linda Molter, her daughter Meagan, and Harper Simpson, who died in the crash off Big Marco Pass around sunset Saturday.

The reports will go directly to the FWC. Investigators of the agency may not receive the reports for weeks, according to Moschella. She said that the examiner's office is performing toxicology tests on the bodies for any traces of drugs or alcohol.

Moschella couldn't confirm a report that the vessel had a stress crack.

"The main question we want to answer is what caused the crash," she said. "What happened just before the crash."

FWC investigators are going over the remains of the 32-foot Powerplay boat inch by inch.

"They are going to glean any information that they can from that vessel," she added.

In the accident's wake, officials emphasized the need for boaters to wear life jackets. None of the five people aboard the broken vessel were wearing life jackets, Moschella said.

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