The Tarzan actor Joe Lara along with his wife and Christian diet guru Gwen S Lara are among the seven people who are presumed to have died in a plane crash in Tennessee.
Joe Lara had played the title role of Tarzan in the television series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, in the 1990s.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna C501 plane was heading from nearby Smyrna Rutherford County Airport to Palm Beach International Airport when it crashed on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, Captain John Ingle of the Rutherford County Fire Rescue said in a statement that recovery efforts were ongoing at the Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna and efforts were focused on examining a half-mile-wide debris field in the lake.
“With dive teams in the water, we are strongly urging civilian boaters to stay away from the public safety boats,” said Mr Ingle.
Smyrna is located about 32 kilometres southeast of Nashville. Percy Priest Lake, a popular spot for boating and fishing, is a reservoir.
The people whom officials have presumed dead are Brandon Hannah, Gwen S Lara, William J Lara, Da L Martin, Jennifer J Martin, Jessica Walters and Jonathan Walters. Their names were released after family members were notified.
Gwen Lara founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood in 1999 and wrote a faith-based weight loss book.
The Remnant Fellowship Church, in a statement to CNN, said that the “seven Remnant Fellowship leaders lost May 29, 2021, were some of the finest and most loving people that you would ever come across. During this horrible tragedy, our church would greatly appreciate prayers”.
“Gwen Shamblin Lara was one of the world’s most kind, gentle, and selfless mother and wife, and a loyal, caring, supportive best friend to all. She lived every day laying down her own life to ensure that others could find a relationship with God,” the Remnant Fellowship Church said in its statement. “Her wonderful and supportive husband, Joe Lara, will also be greatly missed,” the statement said.
Additional reporting by agencies
