Authorities say father was not holding young girl who fell from Disney ship

• The case of the father who rescued his daughter after she fell from a Disney ship has transfixed the world.
• Broadcaster NBC Dallas Fortworth has aired claims the girl was on ledge before she fell.
• Authorities are now investigating the incident.

The authorities who are investigating how a five-year-old daughter fell overboard from a Disney ship have revealed the first information about their probe.

USA Today says a Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told them detectives were continuing to investigate the moments before a 5-year-old girl lost her balance while sitting on a railing.

The spokesperson, Veda Coleman-Wright, told USA Today: “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.”

This version contradicts some online reports which claimed some witnesses allege that the child might have accidentally gone overboard after being placed on the railing of deck four for a photo.

Foul play is not suspected.

As the Disney crew have rightly been praised for their life-saving quick actions, the obvious questions are now being raised: How, on a child friendly ship, could this happen?

On Sunday, June 9, the Disney Dream was returning to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. During the cruise ship’s stop at Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in Bannerman Town, Bahamas, a five-year-old girl fell overboard from the ship’s fourth deck and was rescued by her father who had jumped overboard.

The Disney crew immediately responded and both were rescued.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said: “The Disney crew was well prepared.

“Clearly, their training and readiness paid off because they executed a successful ocean rescue.”

The statement continued, noting that “while there doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious, Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the child falling overboard.” 

“This family is so blessed,” the representative said. “It’s great to be able to respond to good news rather than what could have been a tragic outcome.”

While some are praising the father’s heroic efforts, others are claiming there is more to the story.

Another passenger, Damali Hepburn, said she was told by a crew member that her father jumped in after her.

“We spoke to one of the crew members, and she said that the little girl was in the area she wasn’t supposed to be in, and she fell,” Hepburn said. “And her father jumped in after her. And the mother said there was one person in the water, but there were two people in the water. So that’s why they had to turn around and go back for him.”

While this version of events has not been verified or confirmed by Disney Cruise Line or the authorities, it has sparked a debate on social media.

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How did Disney detect the child and father had gone overboard?

Disney Cruise Line’s team reacted quickly, with the crew acting swiftly due to its detection systems across its entire fleet.

The technology is aimed at cutting down on response times by notifying the crew as soon as a person goes overboard.

At least one such system utilises thermal cameras and micro radars to detect people in the water.

“The Crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson previously told USA TODAY in a statement.

“We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”

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Has a child falling off a balcony happened before?

In 2019, Salvatore ‘Sam’ Anello and his family were travelling on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

He had been looking after his granddaughter, 18-month-old Chloe when he alleged, that Chloe had walked over to a nearby glass wall and he put the little girl up to the window so she could bang on the glass.

But Chloe slipped from his hands and fell through the open window onto the pier in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the ship was docked.

Anello had repeatedly said he did not know the window was open when he put Chloe up to the window.

While the family attempted to sue Royal Caribbean, saying the cruise line was at fault for the toddler’s death, court documents from the line’s legal team said there was “no hidden danger” and that Mr Anello “knew the window was open”.

Royal Caribbean released images in court to prove Mr Anello had leaned out of the window and therefore knew it was open.

The cruise line claimed in court documents that Mr Anello only had to use his “basic senses” to realise this and said the footage they released shows the grandfather leaning thorough the window just before he lifted Chloe onto the ledge.

Anello accepted a plea deal to serve no jail time after pleading not guilty to charges of negligent homicide.