ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It appears members of the family killed in fiery plane crash in Texas this weekend had ties to the Tampa Bay area.
The Ellard family home, which backs up to Boca Ciega Bay, sits directly across the street from the Gulf of Mexico along Gulf Blvd.
The estate apparently has been held by the Ellard family for many years.
Adel Naser, who maintains the property in the 4900 block of Gulf Boulevard, says the property is most often occupied by Chad Ellard.
Rolf Ostrovskis, who has known the family for decades, says it’s a house that Chad and his brother Brian grew up in.
Ostrovskis says the Ellards owned a very successful and large insurance company.
They kept this property, he said, but moved to the Dallas area several years back.
The father, said Ostrovskis, died and left the property to his sons.
Neighbors say the Ellards loved to visit this area and loved spending time on the water, and so they would fly back to St. Petersburg on holidays.
Neighbors also say each time the Ellards came to town, their yacht - which is docked behind the house - would show up at the same time.
It’s not always kept there, further indicating that the family was, in fact, planning to fly into the Bay area this week and spend time here for the July Fourth holiday.
Brian, said Ostrovskis, was an art enthusiast. Chad, he said, had always been a huge fan of sailing.
Everyone who knew the family described it as a terrible tragedy, with so many members of a family that so loved this area being taken so suddenly.
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