The father of a 20-year-old passenger who jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last Thursday in an alleged drunken impulsive act still believes his son is still alive, nearly a week later.
Francel Parker, father of missing Le’Veon Parker; told the Daily Sun He said he believed his child, whom he called a master diver, was still alive in the ocean off the coast of the Bahamas.
“The moment he left the side, I prayed for him. I was confident that my prayers for my son would be heard. I am standing on the word of God. I believe he’s alive,” Francel Parker told a local Florida paper Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for the Northport man the day before.
Witnesses previously told the Post that Parker, the younger brother, got into an argument with his father and crashed into the 18-story Liberty Building at about 4 a.m. in front of his helpless father and brother.・It is said that he jumped from the Seas ship.
But Francel, who owns an air conditioning business in Port Charlotte, told a local newspaper that she was not arguing with Leveon and that her son was not trying to commit suicide.
He said Leveon, a skilled diver who works on a commercial fishing vessel, wanted to know how he gave alcohol to his underage son on a four-day cruise to Cuba and Grand Inagua Island in the Bahamas. .
“We don’t drink,” Francel said. “I would like to know why so much alcohol was provided to my son.”
Another cruise ship passenger who witnessed Leveon’s heart-stopping jump said Francel was “making a scene and saying he was drunk.”
Brian Sims told the Post that in the early hours of April 4, he and Le’Veon and his 18-year-old brother, Seth, were playing in the boat’s bathtub before they separated.
After going to the bathroom and drying off, Sims met his brother and his father near the elevator.
“As we were walking back to the elevator from the hot tub, his dad and brother walked towards us,” Sims said of the moments before Parker jumped.
“When we got to them, he said to his father, ‘I’m going to fix it right now,’ and he jumped out the window in front of all of us,” Sims said. He called what he witnessed “surreal.”
Another cruise passenger described the frenzied chaos that followed.
“There was a lot of screaming and the crew was immediately alerted,” Deborah Morrison told the Post.
“His family was terrified. Right on their doorstep. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through.”
Francel told the Daily Sun that he threw six life rings from the vessel in an attempt to save his son before the giant ship came to a halt after about 20 minutes.
Royal Caribbean said it “immediately” dispatched a search vessel to search for the 20-year-old and alerted the Coast Guard, which then took over the search.
Between 2000 and 2024, at least 406 people fell overboard on major cruise lines and ferries. According to the data collected By retired professor and cruise industry researcher Ross Klein.
Klein said the death rate for off-board passengers and crew varied widely by cruise line, but even the safest cruise lines were only able to rescue about 40% of people who fell or jumped from their ships. told the Washington Post In July.
