Overview
- A newly released Broward County Sheriff’s Office report says the mother pointed out an open porthole for a picture, after which the 5-year-old climbed onto the railing and fell about 49–50 feet into the ocean on June 29.
- Investigators say ship security video and the mother’s live phone images align with both parents’ accounts, showing the child getting up on the railing and falling backward.
- Detective Christopher Favitta recommended a child-neglect charge, but a memo from Assistant State Attorney Melissa Kelly explains the conduct does not meet criminal culpable negligence, and the case is closed.
- The father jumped in roughly 45 seconds after the fall and kept his daughter afloat until a rescue boat retrieved them at 11:49 a.m., about 20 minutes after they entered the water.
- Medical records note the child had mild hypothermia and minor lactic acidosis with no other injuries, while the father suffered two spinal fractures; the ship’s man-overboard sensors did not detect the child and were triggered by the father.