Tragedy on the water

A number of questions remained unanswered Sunday after a boating accident off Big Marco Pass took the lives of three Naples residents around sunset Saturday.

Law enforcement agencies were searching Sunday for a fourth passenger who was on the 32-foot vessel.

Killed were the operator of the boat, Harper Simpson, 31, of 508 St. Andrews Blvd. and passengers Linda Molter, 41, of 15095 Summit Place Circle and her 22-year-old daughter Meagan.

Missing in the accident is Molter's son, 20-year-old James Molter.

Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Molter survived the crash, according to Dani Moschella, public information coordinator for the South Region Office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The FWC is lead agency in the investigation of the accident.

Five fishermen in a boat told the FWC that the 32-foot Powerplay was traveling at a high rate of speed around sunset Saturday. Moschella said that the boat may have hit a large wave or a wake.

"There is incredible damage to the boat," she said. "That will tell us a lot of about what happened."

The fishermen were able to pull Jennifer Molter out of the water. They unsuccessfully attempted CPR on one of the victims.

The damaged vessel was transported by Sea Tow to the Marco River Marina on Sunday. A fork-lift hoisted the boat onto a trailer.

Moschella said investigators will try to determine whether carelessness or alcohol was involved. She added that weather and sea conditions were good Saturday.

Officers from the Marco Island Police Department and Collier County Sheriff's Office marine units and a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard were continuing an "aggressive" search for James Molter, FWC officer George Pino said on Sunday He had not be located by presstime.

"Based on the conditions of the seas and the current systems in this area, there is a potential that that body is several miles away now," Pino said.

He added that, if searchers don't find James Molter by the afternoon, regular patrols in the area will keep a lookout for Molter.

"We're never going to stop searching for this man," Moschella said. "We're never going to stop hoping that we find him. We may scale down the type of search we are doing."

Marina owner Bill Rose recalled the last time that another boat involved in a serious accident was towed to the facility.

"The last time was when a young man at night went underneath a bridge in the wrong spot and cut his head off," Rose said.