Police set record straight after dad's incredible cruise ship rescue of daughter
Officials have been forced to dispel vicious online rumours that a hero dad who leapt off a cruise ship to save his daughter had caused the accident.
The five-year-old girl plummeted from the fourth deck of the $900million (£661million) Disney Dream cruise ship as it travelled from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale. Showing incredible bravery, her 37-year-old dad immediately jumped 50ft into the ocean, before spending 20 minutes holding her while treading water until they were rescued.
His daring efforts were initially applauded online, before viral theories emerged saying he had lifted her on to a railing to take a photograph before she fell. Broward County Sheriff's Office has now officially disspelled the rumours, explaining that the girl had been sitting on a railing when she fell through a porthole and into the ocean. However, they were clear the dad had not put her there.
Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters: 'After the girl's mother alerted her husband, who didn't see the incident, he jumped into the ocean to save his daughter.
'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.' The father's version of events has been corroborated thanks to surveillance footage aboard the ship.
'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,' he said.
The alarm was raised moments after the girl fell in the water, with "man overboard" warnings sounding through the entire ship. The speed of the alarm helped rescuers act quickly. Thousands of fellow passengers watched on in horror as rings were chucked into the ocean and a rescue craft raced to the scene.
One witness, passenger Nikki Samsill Jackson, told the Daily Mail: 'When they were rescued, dad had his arms around his child and he was treading water. Everybody was cheering.'
Elinor Finkelstein, a New Yorker aboard the cruise, witnessed the drama play out, but said crew members did a great job of "not panicking at all." Finkelstein said: "(They) kept everyone calm. No frenzy or screaming. Everyone was concentrating on the scene. It was an absolute miracle."
The passenger told how an emergency "Mr M.O.B" alert rang out over the intercom - code signifying a person overboard. Finkelstein told ARC Rochester: "I first heard the Mr. Mob announcement over the speakers probably between 11.15 to 11.30 in the morning. I went up to the pool deck and everybody was standing around watching.
"Seeing the boat go out and seeing that rescue happen was incredible. I had no idea that a cruise ship could turn around so quickly. It was a successful rescue, and by about 11.50ish, the boat was back to the ship. Everyone was cheering, and it was definitely a miracle."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum shot terminally ill husband and their two children - leaving boy, 3, an orphan
Emily Long, 34, had uploaded a series of distressing TikToks in the lead up to the deaths, detailing her struggles to come to terms with her husband's terminal brain cancer battle A mother shot her terminally ill husband, their two children and then herself dead in a horror murder-suicide - leaving her youngest boy, 3, an orphan, an autopsy has found. Emily Long, 34, had uploaded a series of distressing TikToks in the lead up to the deaths, detailing her struggles to come to terms with her husband's terminal brain cancer battle. She confessed in her last video - shared just two days before killings - that she and the children were having a hard time with her husband's diagnosis, but that she was committed to overcoming her mental health issues. Her husband Ryan Long, 48, and two of their children, eight-year-old Parker and six-year-old Ryan, were found dead at their home in New Hampshire, the US, on Monday night. Their youngest child, aged 3, was unharmed. READ MORE: Toddler becomes orphan after 'perfect family' wiped out by quadruple murder-suicide According to newly released autopsy findings, Emily died by suicide from a single gunshot wound to the head. Her two children were killed after each suffering a single gunshot wound to the head, which the medical examiner ruled as homicides. Emily's husband was shot multiple times, with his death also ruled a homicide. "Based upon the information available at this time, it appears that in the early morning hours of Monday, August 18, 2025, Ms. Long took a handgun from the home and caused the deaths of Ryan Long and her two children, Parker and Ryan, and then took her own life immediately thereafter," the medical examiner told the Daily Mail. "While investigators are becoming aware of various concerns/issues ongoing in the household at the time of the event in question, people should avoid speculating that this event was caused by a single reason or stressor." Police received a call on Monday alerting them to multiple deaths inside the home. On arrival at roughly 8.21pm, they found the three-year-old boy inside the home, unharmed. He is now in the custody of family, with an investigation into the incident ongoing. On TikTok, Emily spoke about the family's journey after her husband was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. "All I want to do is hide under a blanket with my kids, but that isn't healthy for them and it's not healthy for me," she said. "Today I decided I need to make a conscious effort to shift my mindset. I'm getting out of this depression whether I want to or not. I am determined to create normalcy."
Metro
30 minutes ago
- Metro
Tory councillor's wife jailed for Southport post to 'walk free' today
A woman who called for hotels housing migrants to be set alight could walk free from prison in a matter of hours, it has been reported. Childminder Lucy Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred after sending the X post on the day of the Southport attacks. The mum is now set to be released early from HMP Peterborough, having served less than half of her sentence, according to reports in the Daily Mail and the Telegraph. Her post, which was viewed more than 300,000 times in the four hours before she deleted it, said: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.' The post was prompted by false rumours which circulated on social media following the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, which suggested the attacker was an illegal immigrant. Connolly, 41, who is married to West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly, was sentenced to 31 months in prison last October, and in May of this year, she lost an appeal to reduce her sentence. The childminder's X post was uploaded hours after Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all killed by Axel Rudakubana, who was aged 17 at the time. The attack on the class injured eight other children and two adults. It sparked rioting across the country, which has led to dozens of prison sentences. Connolly's imprisonment was highly controversial, with her supporters claiming she was made a scapegoat for last summer's disorder and given an unfairly long jail term. More Trending Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended her conviction, saying he would 'always support' the UK's justice system. Court of Appeal judges agreed her sentence was appropriate when they refused her bid to reduce it. Dismissing her appeal, Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive. 'The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Southport killer Axel Rudakubana wins back prison perks after attacking guard with boiling water MORE: From a 'Surveillance society' to a 'papers please' society, readers discuss the Online Safety Act MORE: Tory councillor's wife jailed for Southport tweet could be released in weeks
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Republican elites accused of cover-up after married GOP star's arrest for sickening secret
The Republican Party was already braced for the imminent trial of a GOP lawmaker in South Carolina who was arrested in June on sickening child pornography charges. But now sources have told the Daily Mail that RJ May, 38, who has close ties to several sitting U.S. congressmen, may be using those powerful connections to get off the hook.
