Parents of Drowning Victim File Lawsuit
The devastated parents of a Texas girl who drowned during a scuba certification course have initiated legal action against two organizations, asserting that their daughter’s tragic death could have been averted.
On August 16, 2025, 12-year-old Dylan Harrison participated in a private open water class bought from a local dive shop, Scubatoys.
Upon arriving at the Scuba Ranch facility near Terrell, the family learned that Dylan would be joining a group of seven students. The lawsuit alleges that prior to the class, the instructor assured Dylan’s parents he would “keep an eye on their daughter.”
At the time, Chief Deputy William Armstrong from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office was working part-time as a scuba instructor while managing his responsibilities as a sheriff and a night security guard for an investment firm. According to the complaint, when Dylan and her swimming partner entered the water, Armstrong did not verify that Dylan was appropriately weighted for the dive.
Dylan was last seen when the class first entered the water at 9:36 a.m., and after a miscommunication among students, she resurfaced about 36 minutes later.
Emergency services were summoned approximately 15 minutes after Dylan went missing. The lawsuit indicates that Dylan had sufficient air in her tank for several minutes after being last seen, suggesting she could have been alive and struggling underneath the surface before she ultimately drowned.
Following the incident, Armstrong resigned from his role with the sheriff’s office.
The lawsuit, totaling 40 pages, argues that the negligence leading to Dylan’s death stemmed from years of disregard for safety concerns within the scuba industry. The Harrison family’s attorneys brought attention to a video from a 2017 meeting where Scubatoys’ owner, Joe Johnson, allegedly voiced flippant remarks about safety protocols and hinted at fatalities occurring that year.
Responses from attorneys representing Scubatoys, NAUI, PADI, Scuba Ranch, and the Harrison family have not been immediately available. It seems a representative for Armstrong was also uncontactable at this time.
