A father—who heroically dove into the ocean to save his daughter’s life—was branded a villain and falsely accused of causing the near-tragedy.
Now, law enforcement officials have set the record straight, revealing the life-threatening chaos that took place in the open sea.
“The amount of people I saw crucifying this father after just believing rumors and not actually know what happened is sad,” one commented online.
A father who dove into the ocean to rescue his daughter was wrongfully blamed online
Image credits: Traviscat/Reddit
The terrifying incident unfolded on Sunday, June 29, as the Disney Dream cruise ship was returning from a four-night cruise in the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The 5-year-old girl fell from the vessel’s fourth deck, sparking immediate panic with terrified screams echoing across the ship.
Image credits: metzd87/Reddit
Rumors circulating online initially villainized the 37-year-old father, claiming he lifted his daughter on top of a 42.5-inch (3.5ft) railing for the sake of a photo.
The child then fell backwards and plunged into the water, according to the unverified claims.
However, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the little girl was not being held by her father in the moments before the fall.
Witnesses described hearing a loud splash and screams echoing across the ship
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The girl was on the railing and fell backwards through a porthole, Sheriff Gregory Tony said on Wednesday, July 2.
He noted that the father hadn’t placed the child on the railing but did not specify who did or whether the child climbed on top alone.
At some point, the mother raised the alarm and alerted her husband.
“After the girl’s mother alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter,” he said.
@noeayala32 #disneycruise#disneydream ♬ original sound – noe ayala875
Chandler, a passenger aboard the ship, said there was “some kind of commotion” at the time.
“Then this awful scream from what I assume is the mother and then this massive splash,” she told People.
“It sounded like hitting pavement, nothing like if you jump into a pool, it was so loud,” she added.
Another passenger, Nikki, said she saw the commotion but had to turn away.
“My anxiety took over. I couldn’t watch,” she told FOX 35. “At that point, I just went and got in my lawn chair and just started praying.”
“I just went and got in my lawn chair and just started praying,” a fellow passenger said
Image credits: Christian Lambert/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Moments after the little girl plunged into the water, the father kept his daughter alive by treading the water with her for 20 minutes until rescuers arrived, the sheriff said.
“BSO detectives said after the 37-year-old father found his daughter, he treaded water until they were rescued by a tender that was launched from the ship,” Sheriff Gregory said.
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“BSO investigators said the total time from the child’s accidental fall to the rescue was about 20 minutes. Once rescued, the father and daughter were checked out by the ship’s medical staff,” he added.
Upon the ship’s return to the port, the father was taken to the hospital to receive treatment for an injury he sustained during the rescue.
“This family is so blessed. It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome,” the sheriff added.
The father kept his daughter alive by treading water with her for 20 minutes until the ship’s rescue tender arrived
Image credits: YOOPERIPA
Officials said the investigation is still underway, but they released certain details “in response to misinformation” circulating online.
“We haven’t arrested either parent. We want to be clear—this is to stop the misinformation that’s going out on social media attacking this family,” the sheriff’s public information officer told FOX 35.
@noeayala32 #disneycruise #disneydream ♬ original sound – noe ayala875
Chandler said she was worried the incident would end tragically.
“I didn’t think they’d find them,” she said. “I had to tell my own 9-year-old daughter Harper they were probably gone [because] they usually can’t find people who fall.”
“The parents were playing shuffleboard and the dad jumped in after her,” said a passenger who spoke to a crew member
Image credits: metzd87/Reddit
Monica Shannon, another passenger onboard, said she was waiting with her family on Deck 3 to meet Disney princesses when the incident took place.
“I kind of see something really fast flew by, I didn’t think anything of it,” she told CBS News. “I just figured it was maybe a part of the show or just the experience, but about five minutes later we heard that someone flew overboard.”
Monica claimed she later spoke to a ship employee, who witnessed the harrowing events that unfolded on Deck 4.
Image credits: noeyala32
“The crew member who said that’s her station and she was on the fourth floor, she did say that she was climbing up and the parents were playing shuffleboard and the dad jumped in after her,” the passenger said.
Nikki said she shed tears of relief after the father and daughter were rescued.
“I just burst into tears,” she said. “The emotion, being a mom and a grandmother–you’re on vacation having the best time of your life and something so tragic like that happened. It was just tears of relief that those prayers were answered.”
“I can’t imagine the terror they went through,” one commented online
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