Lone body found after El Faro sank too decomposed to ID

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The one body found by Coast Guard crews searching for the El Faro was too decomposed to identify, so it was left to be collected later while searchers continued seeking survivors.

Coast Guard Capt. Todd Coggeshall, who led search efforts for the freighter after it disappeared Oct. 1, testified Tuesday before a Coast Guard investigative panel a tracker put on the body for later recovery did not work, so it was never located.

The El Faro sank after it lost propulsion while sailing from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico and got caught in Hurricane Joaquin.

Coggeshall said it would have been possible to collect the remains right then, but the crew left the body to resume looking for survivors.

He said the remains were too decomposed to identify by gender or ethnicity.

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