Overview
- A newly released Broward County Sheriff’s Office report says the mother asked her 5-year-old to pose at an open Deck 4 porthole on June 29, after which the child climbed onto the railing and fell about 49–50 feet into the ocean.
- Investigators said security video matched the parents’ accounts, and the mother’s live photos sequentially captured the moments leading to the fall.
- Detective Christopher Favitta noted the porthole was open to the air and easier to climb than plexiglass-lined areas elsewhere on the ship, and he recommended a child-neglect charge.
- The father jumped in roughly 45 seconds after the fall, the man-overboard alarm was triggered by his entry, and a rescue boat launched at 11:40 a.m. recovered both at 11:49 after they treaded water for about 20 minutes.
- Medical reports say the child was treated for mild hypothermia and minor lactic acidosis and released, while the father suffered hypothermia and two spinal fractures; earlier rumors that he placed her on the railing were debunked by investigators.