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Millionaire’s wild ride before vanishing revealed
A marine analysis, released Thursday, shows that Guma Aguiar, the wealthy industrialist who disappeared on June 19, steered his boat at high speeds erratically out to sea.
Home and yacht of missing tycoon Guma Aguiar at 1500 SE 10th Street Ft.Lauderdale on June 29th, 2012.Back of house and yacht"ZION" after name was covered by man on back of boat. Joe Rimkus Jr. / Miami Herald Staff
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BY JULIE K. BROWN
jbrown@MiamiHerald.com
The night he vanished at sea, Fort Lauderdale millionaire Guma Aguiar left his $5 million Rio Visa mansion, boarded his 31-foot fishing vessel, and throttled it.
Witnesses say his boat, the T. T. Zion, kicked wakes as it exited Port Everglades, then accelerated at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour as he jumped 4-6-foot waves in stormy weather, police said.
A marine analysis of the wealthy industrialist’s last known journey, released Thursday, shows that he activated his boat’s GPS at 7:29 p.m., about two nautical miles northeast of the port. He then began running at erratic speeds in a dangerous clip northeast for about seven miles. There was a small-craft warning issued and thunderstorms threatened.
“He was moving pretty quick,’’ said Sgt. Steve Novak, the lead detective investigating Aguiar’s disappearance. “We had people tell us that he was wave jumping.”
But at 7:56 p.m., data shows his boat abruptly turned, and his speed suddenly decelerated to .6 miles per hour, as the Zion turned west, at a drift-like pace, with speeds no more than 3 miles per hour. It ran aground on the beach at Las Olas Boulevard. The boat was empty; and the only thing left behind were Aguiar’s flip-flops, wallet, cell phone and a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
“You ask five different people what they think happened, and you would get five different answers,” said Novak, who has been working the case nearly non-stop since Aguiar vanished on June 19.
The analysis shows no evidence of foul play, but it also doesn’t rule out that Aguiar could have hopped onto another vessel, to escape his troubled life. At the time of his disappearance, his wife, Jamie, was trying to void their prenuptial agreement, and previously had filed a restraining order and threatened to divorce him.
He was also mired in legal battles that had cost him $20 million, was suffering from bi-polar disorder and was watching his fortune swallowed by poor investments and people who were taking advantage of his wealth, according to those closest to him.
Aguiar, 35, and the father of four young children, had been institutionalized several times. He was on probation at the time of his disappearance in connection with a domestic dispute involving his wife a year earlier. Born in Brazil, Aguiar came to this country as a child with his mother and his father, the latter a noted artist. At the age of 26, he and his uncle, Thomas Kaplan, discovered a vast field in Texas that contained quanities of natural gas. They formed a company, Leor Energy, which they later sold for $2.55 billion.
Aguiar got $200 million from the sale, and went on to other projects, including buying basketball and soccer teams in Israel and about $40 million in Israeli properties.
Aguiar, who had a boat captain on his staff, rarely handled his own vessels, Novak said. Friends said he didn’t even know how to park the fishing boat. He also owned a 77-foot yacht, which was berthed on his dock behind his lavish mansion. The captain, police said, did not live at Aguiar’s home and wasn’t working the night Aguiar went missing.
It’s not clear whether he committed suicide, was kidnapped, staged his disappearance or simply fell off his boat.
But at the point that his vessel slowed, Aguiar was in about 600 feet of water.
“At that depth, if he fell overboard, there would be little chance that we would ever find his body because it would sink to the bottom,’’ said Travis Mandell, spokesman for Fort Lauderdale police.
The tie bar that connects the steering to the boat’s twin outboard engines was broken, disabling one of the two engines. Even with the other engine operable, Novak said it still would have been difficult to steer the boat, especially given the inclement weather conditions.
Wind gusts were reported as high as 20 miles per hour.
It ran aground shortly after 1 a.m., almost directly in front of the Elbow Room bar on AIA and Las Olas. Novak said bar patrons and employees watched it come ashore. Its lights and ignition were on, and it throttle was forward. The engines, however, were not running, Novak said. There was no blood, and no scrapes on the vessel to show that it had encountered another boat.
Since then, there’s been no credible sightings of Aguiar, who traveled the globe and lived in Fort Lauderdale and Israel. His passport hasn’t been used, and authorities say he hasn’t accessed his bank accounts.
Still, Novak said anything is possible.
“Hey, there’s nothing to stop him from getting on a boat and going to Bimini, it’s only 30 minutes away.”
Detectives are asking that anyone with information contact Novak at 954-828-5556.
Read more here: Millionaire’s wild ride before vanishing revealed - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com
A marine analysis, released Thursday, shows that Guma Aguiar, the wealthy industrialist who disappeared on June 19, steered his boat at high speeds erratically out to sea.
Home and yacht of missing tycoon Guma Aguiar at 1500 SE 10th Street Ft.Lauderdale on June 29th, 2012.Back of house and yacht"ZION" after name was covered by man on back of boat. Joe Rimkus Jr. / Miami Herald Staff
Fullsize Buy Photo
previous | next
Image 1 of 7
Related Content
Coast Guard GPS Report
BY JULIE K. BROWN
jbrown@MiamiHerald.com
The night he vanished at sea, Fort Lauderdale millionaire Guma Aguiar left his $5 million Rio Visa mansion, boarded his 31-foot fishing vessel, and throttled it.
Witnesses say his boat, the T. T. Zion, kicked wakes as it exited Port Everglades, then accelerated at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour as he jumped 4-6-foot waves in stormy weather, police said.
A marine analysis of the wealthy industrialist’s last known journey, released Thursday, shows that he activated his boat’s GPS at 7:29 p.m., about two nautical miles northeast of the port. He then began running at erratic speeds in a dangerous clip northeast for about seven miles. There was a small-craft warning issued and thunderstorms threatened.
“He was moving pretty quick,’’ said Sgt. Steve Novak, the lead detective investigating Aguiar’s disappearance. “We had people tell us that he was wave jumping.”
But at 7:56 p.m., data shows his boat abruptly turned, and his speed suddenly decelerated to .6 miles per hour, as the Zion turned west, at a drift-like pace, with speeds no more than 3 miles per hour. It ran aground on the beach at Las Olas Boulevard. The boat was empty; and the only thing left behind were Aguiar’s flip-flops, wallet, cell phone and a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
“You ask five different people what they think happened, and you would get five different answers,” said Novak, who has been working the case nearly non-stop since Aguiar vanished on June 19.
The analysis shows no evidence of foul play, but it also doesn’t rule out that Aguiar could have hopped onto another vessel, to escape his troubled life. At the time of his disappearance, his wife, Jamie, was trying to void their prenuptial agreement, and previously had filed a restraining order and threatened to divorce him.
He was also mired in legal battles that had cost him $20 million, was suffering from bi-polar disorder and was watching his fortune swallowed by poor investments and people who were taking advantage of his wealth, according to those closest to him.
Aguiar, 35, and the father of four young children, had been institutionalized several times. He was on probation at the time of his disappearance in connection with a domestic dispute involving his wife a year earlier. Born in Brazil, Aguiar came to this country as a child with his mother and his father, the latter a noted artist. At the age of 26, he and his uncle, Thomas Kaplan, discovered a vast field in Texas that contained quanities of natural gas. They formed a company, Leor Energy, which they later sold for $2.55 billion.
Aguiar got $200 million from the sale, and went on to other projects, including buying basketball and soccer teams in Israel and about $40 million in Israeli properties.
Aguiar, who had a boat captain on his staff, rarely handled his own vessels, Novak said. Friends said he didn’t even know how to park the fishing boat. He also owned a 77-foot yacht, which was berthed on his dock behind his lavish mansion. The captain, police said, did not live at Aguiar’s home and wasn’t working the night Aguiar went missing.
It’s not clear whether he committed suicide, was kidnapped, staged his disappearance or simply fell off his boat.
But at the point that his vessel slowed, Aguiar was in about 600 feet of water.
“At that depth, if he fell overboard, there would be little chance that we would ever find his body because it would sink to the bottom,’’ said Travis Mandell, spokesman for Fort Lauderdale police.
The tie bar that connects the steering to the boat’s twin outboard engines was broken, disabling one of the two engines. Even with the other engine operable, Novak said it still would have been difficult to steer the boat, especially given the inclement weather conditions.
Wind gusts were reported as high as 20 miles per hour.
It ran aground shortly after 1 a.m., almost directly in front of the Elbow Room bar on AIA and Las Olas. Novak said bar patrons and employees watched it come ashore. Its lights and ignition were on, and it throttle was forward. The engines, however, were not running, Novak said. There was no blood, and no scrapes on the vessel to show that it had encountered another boat.
Since then, there’s been no credible sightings of Aguiar, who traveled the globe and lived in Fort Lauderdale and Israel. His passport hasn’t been used, and authorities say he hasn’t accessed his bank accounts.
Still, Novak said anything is possible.
“Hey, there’s nothing to stop him from getting on a boat and going to Bimini, it’s only 30 minutes away.”
Detectives are asking that anyone with information contact Novak at 954-828-5556.
Read more here: Millionaire’s wild ride before vanishing revealed - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com
