Kansas family dies in Florida plane crash

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 2:30 AM EDT, Fri June 8, 2012

The wreckage of a small plane lies in swampland in Polk County, Florida, after a crash killed at least five members of one family.

(CNN) -- Five family members are confirmed dead and the search continues for the body of a sixth after a plane crash in Lake Wales, Florida, on Thursday.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the flight originated at Treasure Cay Airport in the Bahamas and landed at St. Lucie County Airport at 10:15 a.m. to clear customs. The plane left St. Lucie just after noon and the first 911 call came in at 12:36 p.m., he said.

The final destination was Junction City, Kansas.

Officials said two adults and four children were aboard and five bodies had been recovered late Thursday, with a search in progress for the sixth person, assumed to be a child. Officials said it is assumed he is dead because of the condition of the aircraft and the extensive reach of the debris. Plane parts have been reported as far as four miles away.

The plane went down in a swampy area that is not easily accessible, officials said. Rescuers and investigators used all-terrain vehicles to get to the scene.

Firefighters and police lifted the plane to make sure the sixth victim wasn't underneath, Judd said, adding the child may have fallen through a hole in the plane before the crash.

Judd identified the family as: Ronald Bramlage, 45; his wife, Rebecca Bramlage, 43; and their children Brandon, 15; Boston, 13; Beau, 11; and Roxanne, 3. It is believed the missing child is Boston, based on descriptions of what he was wearing when he left the Bahamas.

The plane is a Pilatus PC-12, and is owned by Roadside Ventures, LLC of Junction City.

The Bramlage family is well known in the Kansas State University community. Ronald and Rebecca Bramlage were both graduates, and Fred Bramlage, Ronald's father, was the lead contributor to the Bramlage Coliseum, a multipurpose arena that is home to the men's and women's basketball teams.