The father who jumped inand rescued his young daughter after she fell overboard from a Disney Cruise Line ship on Sunday morning was alerted of the incident by his wife, investigators say.
The 5-year-old’s fall — caused when she lost her balance while sitting on a railing and dropped backward down a porthole — was instead seen by the mother, who “alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident,” according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office statement on Wednesday.
New details provided by BSO ruled out speculation on social media that the girl was propped on the railing by her father, who was taking pictures of her.
Some like TikTok user cmd.91, a passenger on the Disney Dream who witnessed the fall, were quick to defend the father, saying “There has been no eyewitness that has come forward to say they saw the dad place the daughter in danger.”
@cmd.91 For those quick to judge that there’s no way a child can go overboard on their own, I took a walk along deck 4 of the Disney Dream before we disembarked this morning. Please remember that everything we are hearing about the child falling overboard is rumor. There has been no eyewitness that has come forward to say they saw the dad place the daughter in danger. As for the safety of these portholes, the Disney Dream has been sailing since January of 2011 and has never had a child go overboard until yesterday. I could see them adding safety measures to prevent an accident after this incident took place. I’m not saying the portholes is how this specific incident happened, but I could see it happening if nothing is done in the future. I do feel people need to focus on the positives that these two passengers survived a fall on a moving cruise ship and were able to stay afloat for 20 mins. Disney reacted as quickly as they could by calling the MOB and throwing out multiple life rings while they prepared the rescue boat. Instead of casting judgement and blame, let’s focus on what we can do to prevent something like this from happening again #disneydream#rescue#portholes#overboard#godisgood#safety#cruise#praise#disneycruise#disneycruiseline#disneycruiseship♬ original sound - CMD
The fall happened at 11:30 a.m. Sunday from the fourth deck of the Disney Dream while it sailed in international waters between the Bahamas and Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale, officials say. Deck 4 is about 20 feet above the sea and has some large portholes, according to news reports.
The father, 37, jumped into the ocean to save his daughter. After treading water for nearly 20 minutes, the pair were rescued by crew members, who were launched from a tender on the ship. The ship’s medical staff examined them, with one of the doctors identified by her “proud little sister,” as Alyssa Charles on a TikTok video of the incident, reported People magazine.
@cmd.91 Today while on the Disney Dream, we witnessed nothing short of a miracle. We were in our stateroom when we heard “Mr MOB, Mr MOB, Mr MOB… port side”. My husband ran to the balcony because he understood that meant there was a man overboard. Immediately, my heart started racing and I began a constant prayer. Disney acted quick as they tossed out multiple life preserver rings and slowed the ship and began turning as they prepared the small boat to go out for a rescue. As we watched the whole thing go down and I zoomed in, I realized there wasn’t one… but two people in the water. We watched as the boat got to them and I was even more surprised when I saw them pull up a little girl (we heard she was only 5 years old) onto the boat. Followed by who we assume is her father. This man jumped in after her and helped her stay afloat for at least 20 minutes while the rescue team pulled off a rescue I will never forget. God was in this story from the beginning. It happened during the day, while we were cruising very slowly, in very calm seas. I’m so thankful both the man and little girl are safe. And for anyone who wants to judge how something like this happens, it can happen in the blink of an eye. There is zero judgement from me, just so much relief and praise. I cant imagine how exhausted and in shock both of these people are. If you do go on a cruise in the future and have a balcony, please don’t let your kids unattended outside and keep the furniture away from the edge. #disneydream#rescue#overboard#godisinthisstory#praise#cruise♬ Goodness of God (Instrumental) - The Worship Initiative Instrumentals & The Worship Initiative
Charles’ LinkedIn profile shows she’s South African and has worked as a lead physician for Disney Cruise Line for a year. Her private Instagram account’s bio section says shes a traveling doctor and lover of “paediatrics.”
“The crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water. 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,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson told the Miami Herald in a statement Monday.
After the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale, the dad was taken to the hospital by Broward Fire Rescue for an injury sustained during the rescue.
Investigators haven’t identified the father and daughter — or provided specifics of the dad’s injury. The family, they say, had traveled out of state for the cruise vacation.
Detectives are still investigating the fall and what led up to it, BSO says,but they reviewed the ship’s security footage and it lines up with the family and cruise staff’s accounts of the incident.
The ship departed from Port Everglades and was returning from the Bahamas after a four-night cruise.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 11:56 AM.
Isabel Rivera covers the city of Pembroke Pines for the Pembroke Pines News, a sister publication of the Miami Herald. She graduated from Florida International University (go Panthers!), speaks Spanish and was born and raised in Miami-Dade. Her last meal on death row would include a cortadito.
