Father of Florida man who jumped from cruise ship believes his son is alive: Report

The father of a 20-year-old man from Florida who jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last week believes that his son is alive. Levion Parker, reportedly drunk, jumped off the cruise ship in the early hours of April 4, off the Bahamas.

His father Francel said on Wednesday (Apr 10) that contrary to some media reports, it was not a suicide, and the family believes that Levion is alive. Speaking to a local newspaper The Daily Sun, Francel said that his son was a master diver who worked on a commercial fishing boat.

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“As soon as he went off the side, I prayed over him. I was confident the prayers I said over my son were heard. I stand on the word of God. I believe he is alive,” he added.

What happened?

On April 4, Levion jumped off the 18-storey cruise ship in front of his father and younger brother. Speaking to the New York Post, witnesses said that the 20-year-old got into an argument with his father before the incident. A passenger aboard the ship said that Francel was fussing at Levion for being drunk.

However, Francel told The Daily Sun he was not arguing with his son and the 20-year-old was not trying to take his own life. Francel is also demanding to know how his son was given alcohol on the four-day cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island.

"We don’t drink. I’d like to know how my son was served so much alcohol," he told the newspaper.

After the 20-year-old jumped, Francel threw six life rings into the ocean below in hopes of saving his son until the ship could come to a halt and a rescue mission could begin. Royal Caribbean said it “immediately” launched search boats and alerted the US Coast Guard, which on Wednesday called off the search.

(With inputs from agencies)