Plane crash: Coast Guard still searching ocean for veterinarian Ken Simmons
All day Saturday, the
"Unfortunately, we are still looking for them. We conducted search and rescue efforts through the night, and we will continue," said
Simmons' plane took off from
The small plane, which was headed to
"It appears he got close to one cell or thunderstorm and started to deviate, then hit another cell. There are so many things that can happen in that scenario," said local flight instructor
Maira, a friend of the 62-year-old Simmons since grade school, says the veterinarian was an experienced and thoughtful pilot.
"Not only was he always happy, he was extremely smart and always methodical. It would surprise me if he did not do everything he could to work his way through the weather," Maira said.
Simmons' generous spirit was hailed across the community in 2012, when he treated a retired
A veterinarian for 30 years, Simmons operated an animal hospital and pet daycare center/resort in Greenacres, but sold them in recent years. He also helped found the
"Kenny and Alice are amazing people," said Dr.
He struggled with which tense to use when speaking about Simmons. "Kenny was an amazing man, larger than life. He was fun, giving, charitable. That's who he was."
Loving and healing animals is who he was as well, friends say.
"Ken gave his life to his work. He loved animals so much because of their pure love and acceptance," said
"He was one of the smartest people I have ever met and one of the top students in our class at
Simmons made headlines when he opened his pet resort on
Simmons' response:
"As a good father and a good husband, as someone who knows that having family and friends is the most important thing in life."
Staff writer
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