U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is asking members of the public to help identify the source of a debris field, which included this large portion of a vessel, spotted Sunday in the Atlantic Ocean about 22 miles east of Jacksonville.

The U.S. Coast Guard is trying to figure out what happened to a deceased man found floating in the Atlantic Ocean Sunday near the wreckage of a boat about 22 miles east of Jacksonville, Fla., according to authorities.

The search for potential survivors continued Monday, with Coast Guard boats on the scene gathering evidence and looking for other people who may have been on the boat, said Lt. Grant Johnson, a Coast Guard public affairs officer.

Investigators have not yet identified the boat and don't know where it came from or where it was headed, Johnson said.

Approximately 10 life jackets were found near the boat debris, but the Coast Guard has not found evidence that other people were on the boat.

"We're working under the assumption other people were on board," Johnson said. "We're going to err on the side of safety. With the lack of evidence we're inclined to continue searching until we know otherwise."

The Coast Guard found the man's passport and believe he is a 49-year-old who last lived in Miami, according to Johnson. His body was recovered and taken to the medical examiner's office in Jacksonville, Johnson said.

Officials declined to identify the man pending notification of his family. The Coast Guard is working with local law enforcement to find his family and figure out what may have happened to the boat.

The Coast Guard did not receive a distress call related to the vessel, two large pieces of which were found near the body, Johnson said.

The wreckage was first spotted around 6 p.m. Sunday evening by an aircrew from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Coast Guard searched through the night for survivors, with boats and aircraft involved in the operation. Bad weather in the Jacksonville area prevented Coast Guard aircraft from searching the debris field this morning, but three boats remained on the scene looking for survivors and gathering evidence, Johnson said.

Jerry Garrison says it's a family tradition to have your initials in ink on your body.

So he says he saw nothing wrong when his 10-year-old grandson wanted his initials tattooed on his leg, NBC station of WTLV of Jacksonville, Fla., reported. 

The Florida Department of Children and Families visited Garrison's home for another matter, spotted the tattoo and told him, yes, that was a problem. 

The agency removed all of the grandchildren who were in the home and placed them in foster care, the station reported. It was unclear how many children were involved.

But Department spokesman John Harrell told WTLV that other allegations -- not the child's tattoo -- were the reasons for removing the children. 

"When you get into cases like this, is the child being abused? Is the child at risk? Are the actions of the parents putting the child at risk," he said.

The station reported that Garrison thinks the the tattoo played a role in the children's removal. 

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"I ain't never been in pain like this, it's the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. In my whole entire life," he told WTLV. 

Under state law, a child under 16 years of age cannot be tattooed unless it's for medical or dental reasons.

WTLV reported that the tattoo artist can be charged with a misdemeanor, not the parent or guardian. 

Children ages 16 to 17 can get a tattoo with parental consent. Once a person turns 18, the choice is up to them. 

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The bodies of a mother and her four children were found Thursday inside a central Arkansas duplex, and authorities were investigating whether they were killed by smoke inhalation from an overnight fire that was extinguished before firefighters arrived.

A maintenance worker found the bodies around 7 a.m., about an hour after firefighters first knocked on the door to follow up on a neighbor's report of smelling smoke. Nobody answered and thermal imaging didn't detect any sign of a fire from outside, so the firefighters left without entering, Jacksonville Fire Battalion Chief Bob Thornton said.

Firefighters had three engines deployed to a nearby house fire, and they believed it to be the source of the smoke smell, Thornton said. After firefighters returned to the scene following the discovery of the bodies, they acknowledged a fire might have burned overnight and "smoldered itself out," he said.

Thornton said authorities didn't suspect foul play but haven't confirmed the cause of death for Marilyn Beavers, 31; her son Dequan Sigleton, 11; and daughters Sydni Singleton, 9; Haylee Beavers, 7; and Emily Beavers, 4.

Phil Nix, the executive director of the Jacksonville Housing Authority, said the maintenance worker found the bodies in their bedrooms and saw extensive smoke damage in the kitchen.

"The damage around the stove and the cabinets beside the stove," Nix said. "Evidently, something was cooking and caught fire."

Jacksonville police spokeswoman April Kiser said there was smoke and soot damage throughout the duplex and in the ventilation system but no fire damage to the outside of the duplex. Authorities declined comment on where the fire started.

Friends said the family members had just been approved for a new house and were planning to move soon. Barbara Brooks said her friend had even asked for help packing.

"She was so excited," Brook said. "She said it was a new step in her life."

The oldest child was a football standout who often played in the field near the home, neighbor Kirk Green said.

"I got the call this morning and I couldn't believe it," said Green, who was godfather to the family. "The last thing I heard him say was he called me and said we were going to get together this weekend and we're going to the park."

Jaylen Washington, 16, said his 11-year-old friend also played basketball but was particularly passionate about football.

"I told him he couldn't play football, and then he proved me wrong," Washington said. "He was a good kid. He wanted to go to the NFL and everything."

Brooks said the mother would often take her children to the skate park or the circus.

"The kids were her world," Brooks said. "We used to take our kids everywhere together. All of her time was with her kids."

Jacksonville, a town of about 28,000 people, is about 20 miles northeast of Little Rock and home to the Little Rock Air Force Base, a training base for C-130 aircraft.

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Updated at 6:21 p.m. ET: JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  -- The head of a private high school was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon by a teacher who had been fired earlier in the day, NBC News reported.

Police said a man came onto campus of Episcopal School of Jacksonville with an AK-47 in a guitar case, went to the administrative office, shot the head of the school several times, and then killed himself, according to WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla.

NBC News reported both bodies were found on campus about 1:30 p.m. NBC News confirmed the person shot was Dale D. Regan, the head of the private, coed school of about 900 students in central Jacksonville. Regan had been at the school for more than 34 years, according to the school’s website.

"We have full confidence that Dale Regan is already with God and in heaven with our Lord and savior Jesus, but we ask for your prayers as we mourn this great leader," said Kate Morehead, dean of Episcopal Cathedral. "We are shocked. She was a very beloved woman."

Regan had been headmistress for seven years.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office told NBC News an employee who had been recently terminated returned to the high school with an assault-style firearm, went into an office and shot and killed Regan. The gunman then shot and killed himself. Authorities identified him as Shane Schumerth, 29, a Spanish teacher at the school.

Schumerth had been hired in 2010, according to the school's website.

'No one is in danger'
Witnesses said they heard seven or eight shots fired in or near the administrative office.

"No children were involved, we believe, and no one is in danger," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said.

The shooting sent shock waves throughout the school and community.

"I think our headmaster was killed today, and I think it was an unhappy teacher that was fired this morning (that shot her)," teacher Carolyn Cooper told WJXT-TV.

A parent, Dondra Lewis, told First Coast News she received a text message from her son, who is a student, and he said there was a shooter on campus.

Another parent, Dave Steel, told WJXT-TV he also received a text from his son. "My heart immediately started racing. All I could think of was the worst and come and get my son immediately to make sure he was safe," he said.

Vigils have been planned for Regan. The school said in a statement it would provide counseling to students and faculty.

The school released the following statement on its website: "The Episcopal Community is deeply saddened to share with you that Dale Regan, Episcopal's Head of School, died this afternoon. Our deepest sympathies are with her family and we ask for your support and prayers during this time. The entire School family mourns the loss of our friend and leader.

"All students and faculty are safe and our campus is secure. The School will remain closed from today through the already scheduled spring break until March 19th. The School will provide counseling and pastoral care to its students, faculty, staff and to those in our School community."

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