90s Tarzan actor Joe Lara, his Christian diet guru wife Gwen Shamblin-Lara, and five other leaders of the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church in Tennessee may have been en route to a MAGA rally in Florida when the plane crashed, killing everyone on board.
All seven people on board were killed when the Cessna C501 —which is registered to the Lara couple— crashed into a lake in Smyrna, 25 miles southeast of Nashville, shortly after take-off on Saturday morning.
On Sunday night, the Remnant Fellowship Church confirmed the deaths of Joe and Gwen Lara, Gwen’s son-in-law Brandon Hannah, and church leaders David and Jennifer Martin and Jonathan and Jessica Walters.
Rutherford County rescue workers are in the process of retrieving human remains and plane debris at the Percy Priest Lake crash site.
“The debris field is approximately a half of a mile wide,” Rescue captain John Ingle said.
According to authorities, the Cessna C501 plane was bound to Palm Beach International Airport.
In a statement last Sunday, the Remnant Fellowship church confirmed the deaths of the seven members.
“The seven Remnant Fellowship leaders lost May 29, 2021, were some of the finest and most loving people that you would ever come across,” the church said in a statement. “During this horrible tragedy, our church would greatly appreciate prayers”.
“We want everyone who was affected, especially the children of the passengers, to know that they are very loved and our church will be taking special care of the children’s needs in these coming years,” it added.
Kimberly Fletcher, a Trump supporter who was set to speak at the MAGA rally on Sunday, revealed that one of the event’s sponsors was on board the plane when the incident happened.
“I am heartbroken,” Fletcher wrote on Facebook. “I am in Florida for an event I’m speaking at tomorrow. One of the sponsors was flying in on a private plane with some friends”.
“The plane went down and it looks there are no survivors,” Fletcher continued. “Please pray for them, their families, and the church members where they pastor.”
However, Fletcher did not clarify which of the seven people on board was the one who sponsored the ‘We The People: Patriot’s Day’ rally.
It was also not clear if all seven people that were killed were attending the rally.