Gabriella Querino, 26, was found Tuesday after her husband, Sean Michieli, died from injuries suffered in Saturday’s crash.
VENICE, Italy — The body of a 26-year-old pregnant newlywed was found Tuesday in the Venice lagoon, ending a dayslong search that began after the small boat she shared with her husband collided with a water taxi near the city’s airport.
Gabriella Querino had been missing since the early morning of Sept. 12, when the small fishing boat carrying her and her husband, 25-year-old Sean Michieli, collided with a water taxi in the Tessera Canal. Michieli was pulled from the water with critical injuries and taken to Angelo Hospital in Mestre, where his death was declared Sunday. Italian news reports said the couple had married three months earlier and were expecting their first child.
A private citizen spotted Querino’s body in the water near Campalto at about 9 a.m. Tuesday and alerted authorities, according to ANSA. Firefighters recovered the body, bringing an end to a search that involved divers, helicopters, watercraft, sonar equipment and police. Authorities said formal identification would include recognition by family members traveling to Venice from Brazil, though investigators said they had no doubt the body was Querino’s.
The couple lived on Burano, an island in the Venetian lagoon. Michieli came from a fishing family and worked as a clam fisherman. Local reports said he and Querino left Burano at about 5 a.m. Saturday to search for bait connected to his fishing work. Roughly half an hour later, their small boat collided with the much larger water taxi in the Tessera Canal, a waterway used by boats traveling toward Marco Polo Airport.
Michieli suffered severe injuries in the collision and underwent medical treatment after being taken to the hospital. His death was confirmed Sunday evening. Querino was not immediately located, prompting an extensive search across the lagoon. Crews faced murky water, changing depths and tidal currents as they searched the area around the collision and expanded their efforts into surrounding waters.
The Venice prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into possible nautical homicide, and the driver of the water taxi is under investigation. Being investigated under Italian law does not establish guilt, and authorities have not announced a final finding on what caused the collision. Investigators are examining the two boats, their direction of travel, their speeds and the sequence of the impact.
ANSA reported Tuesday that investigators also hope to speak with two American tourists who were aboard the water taxi when the collision occurred. The tourists were reportedly traveling to the airport and continued their journey on another taxi after the crash. Authorities were working to locate them as potential witnesses. Toxicology testing was also ordered for the water taxi driver as part of the investigation.
Investigators have been examining visibility and navigation conditions at the time of the collision, which happened before sunrise. Earlier reports raised questions about darkness, fog and the speed of the boats, but authorities have not determined publicly which factors, if any, caused the crash. The water taxi driver has been questioned as investigators work to reconstruct what happened.
Querino was from Brazil and had lived in Italy for several years. Reports said she and Michieli married in Venice on June 8. Her family remained in Brazil and was traveling to Italy as the search continued. Il Resto del Carlino reported that the couple were expecting their first child. Querino had also become involved in Michieli’s fishing life and was working toward the requirements needed to participate in the trade.
The tragedy was the second fatal boating accident to strike Michieli’s family. His uncle, Endrius Michieli, died at age 19 in a boating collision in the Venice lagoon in 2007, according to Italian news reports. Authorities have not suggested that the earlier accident has any connection to Saturday’s collision.
The investigation remained active Tuesday after Querino’s body was recovered. Autopsies and other examinations were expected to help investigators establish the causes of death and reconstruct the collision. No final determination of responsibility had been announced.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.