The dad of Levion Parker, the 20-year-old Florida outdoorsman who drunkenly leaped to his loss of life in entrance of his household on a Royal Caribbean cruise final week, is now questioning how his son was in a position to get so drunk regardless of being underage.
In an interview along with his hometown newspaper, The Each day Solar, Francel Parker insisted that his son wasn’t suicidal and that they weren’t arguing earlier than his deadly plunge—an announcement that contradicts what others onboard instructed the New York Put up they witnessed.
As an alternative, Francel instructed the paper his son’s spontaneous bounce was achieved out of drunken ignorance—one thing he advised ought to have been avoidable.
“We don’t drink,” he instructed the Solar. “I’d wish to understand how my son was served a lot alcohol.”
Regardless of being over worldwide waters on the time of the deadly plunge, roughly halfway between Grand Inagua Island and Cuba, cruises that depart and return from U.S. ports are barred from serving alcohol to anybody below 21. Royal Caribbean has launched an announcement on the incident, however has not addressed witness statements that claimed Levion was drunk.
Parker added that he’s holding out hope his son, an outdoorsman who received a saltwater fishing match simply final month, remains to be alive someplace within the Caribbean—regardless of Thursday making it a full week since he disappeared into ocean, and two days because the U.S. Coast Guard known as off its search.
“As quickly as he went off the facet, I prayed over him,” he mentioned, including that his son was a talented diver. “I used to be assured the prayers I mentioned over my son have been heard. I stand on the phrase of God. I consider he’s alive.”
The tragedy unfolded round 4 a.m. on April 4, on the eleventh deck of the large Liberty of the Seas cruise liner. Witnesses instructed the Put up final week that Levion was hanging out in a scorching tub along with his brother when he was approached by his dad, who appeared indignant that he’d been consuming.
Authorities Determine Son Who Jumped Off Cruise Ship in Entrance of Household
After what he perceived as being an argument, the witness Bryan Sims instructed the Put up he heard Levion inform his dad, “I’ll repair this proper now.” Moments later, he jumped into the darkish ocean under—an incident Sims described as being an “impulsive leap.”
Sims added that the ship was transferring “fairly quick” and that Francel screamed for workers to alert the captain, which introduced the ship to an entire cease inside 20 minutes. The vessel launched rescue boats, however to no avail—Levion was nowhere to be discovered.
Francel instructed the Solar he flung six life rings off the ship hoping one would attain his son, who he mentioned accompanied him on board alongside along with his youthful brother to take a break from his work on a industrial fishing boat.
Social media posts confirmed Levion graduated from North Port Excessive College, in southwest Florida between Sarasota and Fort Myers, in 2022. He performed soccer there, and frequently posted about fishing and looking.
In in its lone assertion on the incident, Royal Caribbean mentioned final week it was “offering assist and help” to Levion’s household.
“The ship’s crew instantly launched a search and rescue effort alongside the U.S. Coast Guard,” it mentioned, including, “For the privateness of the visitor and their household, we have now no further particulars to share.”
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