US Coast Guard officer, wife and 2 children found dead inside home
- - US Coast Guard officer, wife and 2 children found dead inside home
Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY February 11, 2026 at 12:41 AM
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Authorities are investigating what caused the death of a former U.S. Coast Guard officer, his wife and their two children, whose bodies were found inside the family's Central Florida home.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office reported deputies responded to a home in Ocala for a welfare check on Feb. 6 and found all four relatives dead.
The home is about 40 miles south of Gainesville and about 70 miles northeast of Orlando.
The department identified the victims as Yohan Sanchez, 33, Rebeca Santos, 37, Michael Melendez, 15 and Samuel Sanchez, 2.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office identified four people found dead at an Ocala, Florida home on Feb. 6, 2026 as 33-year-old Yohan Sanchez, 37-year-old Rebeca Santos, 15-year-old Michael Melendez, and 2-year-old Samuel Sanchez.
According to the agency, just before 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, deputies responded to a residence on Banyan Track Way in Ocala for a welfare check.
Arriving deputies, the department reported, found two adults and two children dead inside their home.
"They were the best people that I know, always serving the community... all the good things that you can imagine, that’s what they were," Sanchez's sister, Noel Sanchez of Massachusetts, told USA TODAY.
On Feb. 10, the grieving sister said she and other relatives were eager to learn what officially caused the family's death.
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How did Yolan Sanchez and his family die?
According to a preliminary investigation, the agency reported, no foul play is suspected in the deaths.
In an post on social media, the sheriff's office wrote detectives suspected the deaths may have been the result of carbon monoxide poisoning − an invisible and odorless gas.
Officials did not release details, but the agency cautioned that the victims' official cause and manner of deaths remain pending autopsy results from the local medical examiner's office.
"Our thoughts are with their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time," the department wrote.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 7, 2026 was investigating the deaths of four people whose bodies were found inside a house in Ocala, Florida.'Unimaginable tragedy'
Sanchez's sister told USA TODAY that her brother "proudly served" as a reserve in the Coast Guard, retiring from that job last year and most recently working as a truck driver.
She said his family moved into the home about a year and a half ago, and called her relatives "good and honest" Christians who regularly attended church.
"Our family is grieving this unimaginable tragedy, and this fundraiser is to help cover funeral expenses and support our family during this incredibly difficult time," Noel Sanchez wrote in an online fundraiser. "Thank you for your prayers, compassion, and support.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard for more information.
Dated version of Michael Melendez, 15, and Samuel Sanchez, 2.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 7, 2026 was investigating the deaths of four people whose bodies were found inside a house in Ocala, Florida.
A neighbor told the Ocala Star-Banner, part of the USA TODAY Network, the family was "nice, friendly people who valued their privacy."
The Ocala Christian Academy Administrator Randy Osborn reported that Michael Melendez was a ninth-grade student at the school.
"Faculty commended his leadership abilities and his desire to study the Bible," Osborne said. "He was deeply engaged in his local church community and was preparing to preach last Thursday evening. He enjoyed playing the piano, but more importantly, strived to serve God and others."
The case remained under investigation on Feb. 10.
Contributing: Austin L. Miller with the Ocala Star-Banner
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Family found dead in Ocala home, carbon monoxoide poisoning suspected
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