'Debris Field' Found During Search For Missing Plane Carrying Designer With Southold Ties, Kids

SOUTHOLD, NY — A "debris field" has been found during the search for a plane that vanished after leaving Puerto Rico Monday, carrying a famed New York City designer, her two small children and a pilot.

According to United States Coast Guard Petty Officer Eric Woodall, the debris field was found 15 miles east of Eleuthera, Bahamas.

A Coast Guard helicopter was able to locate the field and recover debris; a rescue swimmer was lowered to recover the debris and bring it back to shore for further identification, Woodall said.

The search continues for survivors, he said.

The Coast Guard also corrected earlier information and said the missing children are 3 and 4; earlier information that they were 4 and 10 was incorrect, according to the USCG.

According to the Coast Guard, a search was launched in the Bahamas for a small plane with four people from New York, including two young children, on board that apparently vanished at some point after taking off.

The Coast Guard has been searching for the overdue aircraft 37 miles east of Eleuthera, Bahamas.

Missing are Jennifer Blumin, 40, from New York, Nathan Ulrich, 52, from Lee, New Hampshire, and Blumin's sons, the Coast Guard said.

Blumin and her former husband James Ramsey own a home on Waterview Drive in Southold; a report by NBCNewYork.com noted that, according to data obtained using the plane's tail number, the aircraft is owned by a company called Ithaca Consulting Inc. located at the same Waterview Drive address.

All was quiet at the home on Tuesday.

Across the street, neighbor Laurie Staron was shocked to hear the news that the plane was missing. "It's horrible," she said. "Very sad."

Farther along the road, neighbor Dan O'Connell said he'd seen Blumin with her small boys on the street. "It's terrible," he said.

Blumin, according to numerous media reports, is a famous event space designer whose firm Skylight Studios has featured clients such as Ralph Lauren, according to Heavy.com. She is known for transforming derelict old buildings into "dazzling event spaces," the New York Daily News reported.

She and her former husband James Ramsey had lived in Tribeca with their two young sons, Phinaes and Theodore.

Ulrich, according to the Daily News report, is co-owner of Xootr, a company that manufactures kick scooters and folding bicycles, and also the technical director of Radon Sport LLC. And, according to the same Daily News post, he is the former husband of actress Rae Dawn Chong, who told the Daily News that if there was an accident, it was caused by equipment malfunction. "He's an excellent pilot," she told the publication.

Watch standers with the Coast Guard Seventh District Command Center received a report from Miami Air Traffic Control at 2:10 p.m. Monday of lost radar and radio contact from of an MU-2B airplane approximately 37 miles east of Eleuthera.

Communication was reported to be lost at 24,000 feet with a speed of 300 knots.

The airplane departed Borinquen, Puerto Rico, at approximately 11 a.m., Monday, and also became overdue after failing to arrive in Titusville, Florida.

A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater C-130 Hercules airplane crew searched Monday for the overdue plane. A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City C-130 Hercules airplane and an Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew are searching Tuesday. The Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber was also diverted to assist in the search.

Customs and Border Patrol and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force are assisting in the search.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this post said Nathan Ulrich was from New York, but the Coast Guard issued a correction.

Photo of plane courtesy of United States Coast Guard

Photo of Southold home by Lisa Finn