'I Believe He is Alive': Search Ends for Cruise Passenger, 20, Who Jumped Overboard But Father Holds Out Hope
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Levion Parker, a 20-year-old from Florida, has been presumed dead a week after he jumped from a massive cruise ship heading home from the Bahamas, but RadarOnline.com has learned that his father thinks he could still be alive.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced it had called off the search for Levion on Tuesday, five days after the high school football player reportedly made the alcohol-fueled decision to leap from the ship's 11th deck around 3:30 AM.
The Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas was less than 60 miles from Fort Lauderdale when Levion landed in the water.
Francel Parker thinks his outdoorsy son could have found a way to survive all this time.
Francel Parker thinks his outdoorsy son, an expert diver from North Port who worked on a fishing boat, could have found a way to survive all this time.
"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," Francel told The Daily Sun Thursday.
A passenger named Bryan Sims shared with the New York Post he was in a hot tub on the ship with Levion, who "appeared to be drunk" before he made what the outlet called an "impulsive leap," citing the witness.
The four-day cruise sailed between Cuba and the Bahamas' Grand Inagua Islands.
Levion was hanging out with his brother and Sims before getting into an argument with his dad, Sims said.
“As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess,” he recalled.
The witness said he then heard Levion say, "I'll fix this right now."
"And he jumped out the window in front of us all,” Sims said, adding it happened "literally 8 to 10 feet in front of me."
The 18-story ship halted its journey with 4,000 people on board and the search for Levion ensued.
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Levion Parker was an avid outdoorsman from North Port, Florida.
Francel told the Sun that life rings were tossed out to his son, but they were unsuccessful in bringing him to safety. He also said he was surprised to learn Levion was under the influence.
"We don't drink," Francel explained. "I'd like to know how my son was served so much alcohol."
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told Daily Mail that the cruise company didn't serve the 20-year-old alcohol.
"We have a strict policy on underage drinking. We did not serve this guest on board," the source said. "The ship was docked in the Dominican Republic that day, so we cannot speak to what guest did when he was off the ship."
"Our hearts go out to the family, and we continue to offer them our support and assistance during this difficult time," the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean denied the 20-year-old was served alcohol on the ship.
Francel said, however, that the incident occurred more than nine hours after the cruise left the Dominican Republic and suggested the company should be held responsible.
The four-day cruise left Fort Lauderdale on April 1 and sailed between Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Islands.
The Liberty of the Seas is among the world's largest ocean liners at 1,100 feet long, featuring 15 decks.
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