Miami-Dade police are not saying if a body found in Biscayne Bay is that of a man who went missing after he fell or was pushed off a boat near the Broad Causeway Sunday night. The man’s body was spotted floating in Pelican Harbor early Tuesday morning. Police say it will be up to the Medical Examiner to confirm that the body is that of 22-year-old Domingo Vilalta. A homicide investigation was launched into Vilalta’s disappearance following reports that he might have been pushed off the boat. “They pushed him off the boat on purpose,” Jennexis Castranos, the victim’s cousin said. “They were having a discussion and they pushed him off.”
It happened around 8:20 p.m. According to investigators, Domingo Vilalta was out on the water with a group of people who were partying in two boats off the Broad Causeway. As the vessels departed, they noticed that Vilalta was missing; both boats returned and searched the area. But they couldn’t find Domingo Vilalta.
Several Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and police boats searched the waters off the Broad Causeway and Bay Harbor Islands for several hours. At 11 p.m. the search was suspended for the night.
On Monday they hit the water again, only this time is was deemed a recovery mission. Several members of Domingo Vilalta’s family joined the search efforts in a private boat.
So far no arrests have been made as police try to determine the circumstances that led to Domingo Vilalta being in the water.