Lawsuit filed vs. security company after man falls from dinner cruise into Caloosahatchee River and dies Jake Allen, Naples Daily News
The estate of a Naples man who fell overboard during a December dinner cruise in Fort Myers and died has filed a lawsuit against a Lee County security company, according to court records.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday on behalf of the estate of Joel Henderson, a 37-year-old Naples man, who fell overboard the Capt. JP riverboat and into the Caloosahatchee River.
The lawsuit was filed against Suncoast Security in front of Lee Circuit Judge Alane Laboda.
Henderson was attending a “Nightmare Before Christmas Brews Cruise” on the vessel on the evening of Dec. 4.
The riverboat left from Fort Myers city dock.
About 7:40 p.m., Henderson was walking down a flight of stairs on the vessel when he slipped and fell over the railing and into the Caloosahatchee River, according to the lawsuit.
A “haphazard search” was organized using the staff of the vessel and employees of Suncoast Security, but Henderson could not be located, according to the lawsuit.
Coast Guard crews searched 11.5 hours between east of Cape Coral Bridge and west of Highway 41 into the following day. Additional agencies assisted in the search, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fort Myers Beach Police and Lee County Sheriff s Department.