The body of Eiffel Gilyana, the beloved 46-year-old U.S. Army veteran who disappeared during a group canoeing trip on Saturday morning, was found Tuesday off Florida’s northeast coast, his family confirmed. “Words cannot express the hollowness that engulfs us all, the crushing weight of a future forever etched with his absence,” a loved one wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser. A massive search for Gilyana was launched by the Coast Guard on Saturday, but was suspended after 48 hours. Volunteers continued to search, however, making the tragic discovery off Vilano Beach. Authorities have not given any indication Gilyana’s disappearance and death were anything but an accident. Loved ones said Gilyana, an Iraq native who was a fitness instructor, served as a translator in the Army from 2003 to 2009, adding that he settled in Jacksonville to avoid retribution from ISIS for his military work. Online posts show he was an experienced kayaker, having previously paddled from Miami to Key West—a 150-mile trek.
