BY SOFIA SANTANA

  Medical examiners in two Treasure Coast counties have made preliminary identifications on the remains of three of the four Cuban migrants found off the
  Florida coast last weekend, officials said Wednesday.

  The bodies were badly decomposed after being in the water for days. But relatives from South Florida, who drove to the coroners' offices in Cocoa Beach
  and Fort Pierce, recognized jewelry and clothing. The names of the victims have not been released by medical officials.

  The four were part of a group of up to 25 men, women and children who left the Bahia Honda area in Cuba on Aug. 18 on a smuggler's boat bound for
  Florida. No one knows what happened or when during the journey, which was only supposed to take a day.

  Worried family members in South Florida contacted the Coast Guard, which launched the extensive search that located only four bodies.

  The rest of the migrants, the smugglers and their 24-foot boat have not been found.

  Members of the Deceased Alien Response Team, made up of Coast Guard, Border Patrol, FBI and local officials, continued to interview relatives and
  others about the smuggling mission.

  Leaders of South Florida's Cuban community say they also want the responsible parties found.

  ''I suspect that there are people behind this, funding the boats and paying people to be in charge of these missions,'' said Jose Basulto, head of the
  migrant search group Brothers to the Rescue. ``Something has to be done to change the perception that these guys are heroes.

  ``They're thugs. They charge humongous amounts of money to help people leave the island, but they're only killing them.''