Cops had been scouring South Florida for the boat since the Mother's Day weekend tragedy and offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to its discovery and the identity of its owner.
Officials in Florida say they have found the boat involved in a hit-and-run that killed a 15-year-old water skier, but it is not immediately clear who was at the helm when the tragedy occurred.
Cops had been scouring South Florida for the boat since the Mother's Day weekend incident, when it struck Ella Adler, 15, as she treaded water after water skiing at a birthday party in Biscayne Bay. The boat that hit the teen, who had been waiting to be picked up from the water, did not stop to help her and instead continued on. Authorities had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the boat's discovery and identification of its owner.
The sleek vessel with four powerful outboard motors was found docked outside a $4 million home on a secluded waterway inside a gated community in Coral Gables. It was boarded by officers from the Florida Wildlife Commission and immediately impounded Tuesday.
George Reynaud Florida Wildlife Commission told reporters that “the boat is in our custody and the owner is cooperating.”
An incident report obtained by Inside Edition identifies the boat's operator as 78-year-old Carlos Guillermo Alonso. He is listed as the only occupant of the boat at the time of the tragedy.
The tragedy was witnessed by Ella’s horrified friends who were attending the birthday party on a boat nearby.
Ella was a dance prodigy who loved to perform to Taylor Swift songs. She appeared 100 times in "The Nutcracker" with the Miami City Ballet and she attended an elite private school.
Her grandfather is the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. In the wake of Ella's death, first lady Dr. Jill Biden traveled to Miami to comfort the family.
"The world lost a star this weekend," read a statement released by the family after Ella's death. "Ella was beautiful and shined brightly."
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