No foul play: Family botches sea burial of NC man, body resurfaces near Florida beach

Fla. sea burial botched as man’s body resurfaces

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Authorities suspected foul play when the body of a North Carolina man surfaced near a South Florida beach.

Turns out 48-year-old Scott Lasky died from Lou Gehrig’s Disease on Sept. 8. A fisherman spotted the body about four miles offshore in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday after his burial at sea went awry.

Sheriff’s deputies solved the mystery after finding Lasky’s obituary. Authorities said his family placed his body on dry ice, loaded him in a van and drove from Hickory, N.C., to Florida to honor his dying wish. Relatives boarded a boat and bid Lasky what they thought was their final goodbye until his body resurfaced.

Sea burials are legal but certain rules must be followed. The body has to sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently.