Authorities Identify Son Who Jumped Off Cruise Ship in Front of Family
A man who jumped to his death from a Royal Caribbean cruise last week was identified by media outlets Wednesday as Levion Parker, a 20-year-old Floridian who regularly posted about hunting and fishing.
Parker’s body was never found after his fatal leap on Thursday, which sparked a massive U.S. Coast Guard search between Cuba and the Bahamas’ Inagua islands in the eastern Caribbean.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office identified Parker on Wednesday, the New York Post and Daily Mail reported, just a day after the Coast Guard officially called off their search for the previously unidentified man. Florida deputies did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation from The Daily Beast.
Loved ones reportedly witnessed Parker jump off the 11th deck of the Liberty of the Seas cruise liner in what appeared to be an “impulsive leap,” the Post reported last week, citing a witness.
Bryan Sims, a passenger who claimed he saw the incident unfold, told the paper he’d been hanging out with Parker and his brother in the hot tub.
Sims told the Post that Parker “appeared drunk,” and he spotted him arguing with his dad over the supposed drinking. Moments later, he said Parker leaped into the sea without a trace from an area that housed whirlpools and hot tubs.
“When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he jumped out the window in front of us all,” Sims said.
Deborah Morrison, another passenger, told the Daily Mail that crew were “alerted immediately” by the “yelling” that erupted on deck after Parker’s leap.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean said it immediately halted the ship and dispatched boats to search for Parker, but had no luck. The ship continued on its voyage back to Fort Lauderdale shortly after, leaving the search up to the Coast Guard.
Most of the 4,000 passengers aboard reportedly weren’t alerted to the incident until later that morning, when the ship’s captain made an announcement while many ate breakfast.
Social media accounts for Parker showed that he was an outdoorsman who’d won a fishing tournament just weeks prior to his fatal leap. Posts showed he played football for North Port High School, in southwest Florida, and graduated from there in 2022, reported the Daily Mail.
The paper added that the man’s father, Francel Parker, said the family is consulting lawyers and is planning on putting out a statement.
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