Obituaries
Police Identify Man Who Drowned In Sarasota Bay
The body of 61-year-old James LaRive was recovered near Island Park Sunday morning.
![](https://patch.com/img/cdn/users/975664/2012/10/raw/82e69c0cf49f5463776e260a8cffdd24.jpg)
Sarasota Police say a 61-year-old man found in Sarasota Bay Sunday morning apparently died of an accidental drowning.
Police identified the victim has James LaRive, who had previously described himself as homeless and lived aboard a sailboat anchored in the mooring field. Police say they delayed the announcement of the drowning until Thursday morning until LaRive's body could have been positively identified and his family was notified.
LaRive's body was discovered by a boater at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday near Island Park, according to police.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Emergency responders, including Sarasota Police Officer Tschetter and Officer Blanco using a Sarasota Police boat arrived on the scene and pulled the victim from the water, according to police, then transported LaRive to the 10th Street boat ramp for a death investigation.
Though police have released a preliminary cause of death, they say their investigation is not complete and are asking anyone with information to call Detective McDowell at 941-364-7309.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
This version corrects the age of the victim provided by police.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.