Ocean burial in Fort Lauderdale goes awry

When Daniel Scott Lasky died Sept. 8 from Lou Gehrig’s Disease his family carefully wrapped his body, placed him on dry ice, loaded him into the family van and started their journey south to Fort Lauderdale for a burial at sea.

Some would say it was a fitting tribute for someone who loved the ocean, but Saturday morning when a local fisherman spotted Lasky’s body floating in the Atlantic Ocean his thoughts went to something more sinister. The Broward Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit responded to the scene, more than four miles offshore from Port Everglades, along with the U.S. Coast Guard to retrieve the body. BSO homicide and crime scene detectives met them at the Coast Guard station at John U. Lloyd State Park to investigate.

While investigating the circumstances surrounding Lasky’s death, BSO detectives learned the fisherman’s discovery was part of a family’s desire to honor their love one’s wishes. Lasky’s final resting place was published in the Hickory Daily Record on Sept. 10. The obituary announced, “Burial will be at sea.” So Lasky’s family left Hickory, North Carolina Sept. 9 and stopped overnight in Daytona Beach before arriving in Fort Lauderdale the morning of Sept. 10.

After arriving in Fort Lauderdale they boarded the “Mary B III” and headed out to sea. Attending the committal service were Lasky’s wife, his pastor, a few other family members, the boat’s captain and his crew. The family and friends said their final goodbyes, completed the ocean burial, and went fishing in honor of Lasky before returning ashore.

The burial at sea would have been successful if Lasky’s body hadn’t floated back to the surface. BSO investigators are conferring with the U.S. Coast Guard before concluding their investigation.

Related posts:

1. Body found floating offshore Port Everglades
2. Operation Clean Ocean on Memorial Day
3. Body parts found on the banks of a Dania canal
4. Fort Lauderdale man charged with 100 counts of child porn
5. 51st annual Fort Lauderdale Boat Show comes in October

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Posted by Andrea Freygang on Sep 14 2010. Filed under Broward County, Fire/police, Fort Lauderdale, Latest news, Local news, marine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry