Woman’s Body Removed From Burnt Yacht: Monroe County Sheriff's Office

FLORIDA KEYS — A woman’s body was removed Friday from a burnt yacht at a marina in the Florida Keys, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.

The 70-foot Viking yacht caught fire at the Peary Hotel & Marina on Stock Island on July 26 just after midnight.

Linda Vella, 51, of St. Petersburg was aboard the boat at the time of the blaze. Investigators believe she was unable to escape the fire, the sheriff’s office said.

Also Read: St. Pete Woman Presumed Dead In FL Keys Yacht Fire: Monroe Sheriff

Her husband, Michael Kenneth Robson, 58, and Anthony Joseph Vella, 21 — both from St. Petersburg — were also on the boat and airlifted to a Miami hospital shortly after the fire.

The family was visiting the area for lobster mini-season.

Once the fire was out, the boat was lifted from the water “with great care” before being searched because it was structurally compromised by the blaze, MCSO said.

Identification of the body and autopsy results are pending with the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office. Foul play isn’t believed to be a factor, the sheriff’s office said.

The MCSO Dive Team, TowBoat U.S., Monroe County Fire Rescue, and marina officials assisted MCSO Major Crimes detectives and the State Fire Marshal’s Office in the case.