Friday, 17 July 2026, 6:02
San Francisco police recovered a body from the bay near Treasure Island on Thursday afternoon, as crews continue efforts to locate the wreckage of a boat that capsized near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday. The discovery came during sonar scanning for the sunken 49-foot cabin cruiser Volare, which went down with 20 people aboard.
At approximately 1:02 p.m., officers from the SFPD Marine Unit 3 were scanning the bay floor when a passing vessel alerted them to a body in the water west of Treasure Island, according to a police news release. Officers recovered the body and pronounced the person deceased at the scene. The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the identity and notify the next of kin before releasing the name.
Police have not confirmed whether the deceased is one of the three missing passengers from the Volare. The capsized boat lies at an estimated depth of 120 feet on a rocky seabed, beyond the safe diving limit for SFPD divers, officials said.
On Friday, the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the body recovered Thursday as 58-year-old Tondra Miller from Sacramento County, also known as Tondra Madruga. Miller was a friend of the Boisa family and was aboard the boat trip held as a memorial to a relative of the Boisa family who died in 2016, whose ashes were scattered on the trip around San Francisco Bay. Miller's son, Quin Madruga, was also on the boat but survived. The boat was on its way back to the dock when it took on heavy waves and capsized, according to the Coast Guard.
The group of 20 passengers — mostly family and friends — boarded the Volare for a memorial service to honor a loved one. After setting out from a marina in the San Francisco Bay Area, they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge to the Pacific Ocean and across San Francisco Bay to Angel Island. But as afternoon winds whipped up, the 49-foot recreational cruise boat took on water as they made their way back to shore. It began to sink about 600 yards off Alcatraz Island around 3:30 p.m. Some passengers clung to the top deck of the submerged boat while others floated in choppy waters.
The search for the missing was challenged not only by high winds and rough seas but also because the incident took place in a particularly deep channel of the bay dredged for cargo ships, according to Lt. Mariano Elias, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department. Most of San Francisco Bay is less than 30 feet deep, but the area where the boat went down was about 130 feet deep. Fire Department divers typically do not venture lower than 60 feet, Elias said.
Officials do not know if the missing people are with the boat, trapped under one of its three decks, or were swept out to sea. But Jarod Toczko, the U.S. Coast Guard’s San Francisco sector commander, said there was a “high probability” that the missing individuals were trapped inside the vessel.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the group gathered to scatter the ashes of Maria Boisa, a nurse from Fremont who died by suicide in 2015 at age 32. The man who died was identified Wednesday by the San Francisco medical examiner as Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County. According to the Chronicle, he was the older brother of John Boisa, 62, who owned and captained the vessel. A dog aboard the vessel also perished.
The San Francisco Police Department is working with the state Office of Emergency Services to locate the sunken boat. San Francisco Police Cmdr. Brien Hoo said Wednesday his department was assessing the feasibility of bringing the vessel to the surface. Once the boat is found, he said, the department will use an underwater drone to assess how structurally sound it is and determine whether they have the capability to raise it.
Owner John Boisa was at the helm when the vessel took on a wave, tipped, then quickly rolled over. Photos taken from nearby boats soon after the Volare began taking on water show it on its side and passengers waving down passersby for help.
On Thursday evening, the San Francisco medical examiner identified the body recovered that afternoon as 58-year-old Tondra Madruga, also known as Tondra Miller, of Sacramento County. Her family confirmed her death on social media. “Our family is heartbroken by the loss of our beloved mother, daughter, sister, and aunt, Tondra Madruga,” her brother Quin Madruga posted on Facebook. “Our hearts remain with every family impacted, and we sincerely appreciate your kindness and understanding.” Madruga was a friend of Maria Boisa, according to Ralph Boisa, who said she was inside the cabin when the incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. Two other passengers from the trip, Clifford's wife Jackie Boisa and his sister Carol Boisa, remain missing.
The incident occurred in the busy waters of San Francisco Bay, near the mid-point of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Treasure Island, a former naval station, sits within the city limits of San Francisco. The recovery effort involves the SFPD, U.S. Coast Guard, and Alameda County divers. The depth and strong tidal currents in the area pose significant challenges for any salvage operation.
The Volare, a 49-foot cabin cruiser registered in Stockton, California, capsized and sank about 600 yards from Alcatraz Island on Tuesday afternoon. One person, 79-year-old Clifford Boisa of Sutter County, died from his injuries. His wife, Jackie, and sister, Carol, are among the three missing, along with a family friend. Good Samaritans and first responders rescued 16 people. The Coast Guard suspended the search on Wednesday evening after more than 24 hours of searching with thermal imaging and tide prediction technologies.
The focus now shifts to a complex recovery operation. SFPD is coordinating with specialized salvage companies to determine if raising the boat is feasible. The Medical Examiner's identification of the recovered body will be a key step in providing answers to the families of the missing.
