Authorities have identified the victim found dead in Boston Harbor after a boat crashed early Saturday morning, injuring seven other people.
According to Boston police, 27-year-old Jeanica Julce, of Somerville, was recovered from the water Saturday following a nearly 13-hour search by the U.S. Coast Guard and several local agencies who had responded to the area following a call for a boat crash.
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“My condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim," Capt. Kailie Benson, commander, Sector Boston, said in a press release.
Julce's distraught father Wilfred spoke to NBC10 Boston Sunday night and described his daughter as very outgoing and well respected. She had a smile that lit up the room, he said.
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From the family's Somerville home, Wilfred said his daughter was majoring in finance at UMass Boston. She loved photography and dance, he said, and she had dreams of one day opening her own dance studio.
Now that she's gone, Julce's family says they want to know who was captioning the boat she was on and why they crashed so violently.
Investigators are still working to determine what led up to the fatal incident.
The U.S. Coast Guard said a center console boat with eight people on board hit a "day marker" buoy around 3 a.m. Saturday, throwing everyone -- including Julce -- into the water.
First responders were able to rescue seven people from the water, five of whom were taken to various local hospitals with varying degrees of injuries, the Coast Guard said.
But Julce remained missing for hours until her body was discovered by Massachusetts State Police shortly after 10 a.m. off of Castle Island. An autopsy will be conducted, police said.
It's not clear at this time what caused the boat crash. Authorities are continuing to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding it.
"We are grateful for the quick actions of Boston’s mariners, alongside state, local, and federal agencies," Benson said. "I would like to take this moment to remind everyone to practice safe boating by wearing life jackets, operating at a safe speed, and considering the risk posed by the environment when taking to the water.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous information can be provided by calling the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word 'TIP' to 27463 (CRIME).
