The co-owner and coach at a boxing gym in Fort Lauderdale was found dead Sunday after his car was lifted from a section of the Cypress Creek Canal, a few blocks away from where he was last seen two days earlier.
Jonathan Scibica, 35, of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, left the Cheers Restaurant & Bar in the 900 block of East Cypress Creek Road in his grey 2024 Honda Ridgeline about 4 a.m. Friday. The Broward Sheriff’s Office issued a missing person alert on Saturday evening.
Scibica was a co-owner and coach at Level Up Boxing and Fitness in Fort Lauderdale, owner and professional boxer Elia Carranza told reporters at the gym Monday. Scibica’s cousin was in town visiting on Thursday, and he had the night off from coaching classes to spend time with her, Carranza said.
Boxer Elia Carranza talks about her business partner, Jonathan Scibica, at Level Up Boxing and Fitness in Fort Lauderdale, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. Broward Sheriff’s Office divers recovered Scibica’s body from a canal on Sunday after he was reported missing following a night out on Friday. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
When he did not come in Friday for 6 a.m. classes, Carranza said she thought at first that he overslept. He missed his clients later in the morning, and Scibica’s cousin eventually called Carranza and said she hadn’t been able to find him. Dozens of people helped Carranza search for him on Saturday and Sunday, having mapped out a grid area near Cheers.
About 3 p.m. Sunday, BSO helicopters found Scibica’s truck in the canal near the 900 block of Northeast 63rd Court, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The area is about three blocks behind the bar and restaurant.
Divers helped recover his truck from the water, and Scibica was found inside, the news release said.
Carranza described Scibica as a motivator and father figure to the men, women and kids who he worked with at the gym and “the heartbeat” of the business since opening six years ago.
“… We’re going to be getting all of the titles in his honor and in his name. And all of his prodigies here at the gym, all of his boxers — they will continue on, and we will achieve everything that he wanted for us,” she said.