MILTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A Milton family is calling for change after their young daughter drowned in a tubing tragedy while on vacation in Aruba last spring.
Roughly a year after the incident the family of 13-year-old Cassidy Murray is now pushing officials in Aruba to take water sports safety more seriously as they say they want to prevent more families from experiencing the same grief.
Murray and her family were on vacation, enjoying the sun and salty air alongside other attractions in Aruba.
“This was kind of a once in a lifetime after COVID,” said Cassidy’s mother Linda Navin-Murray.
Cassidy’s family wanted to hold onto those memories. Instead, they’re left with grief.
“It was magical and it was just the four of us, party of four, just plodding along and our worlds were just turned upside down,” Linda said.
On the last day of vacation, Cassidy convinced her dad to go tubing. Once out on the water, though, Cassidy’s father Dave said the water was rough.
“Cass got ejected into the water but it took me a good 30+ seconds to just get the driver to look around,” Dave said.
Dave said he also ended up in the water, where he watched in horror what happened next.
“Cassidy was swimming towards the raft to get back on but the boat came around and hit her and she went under,” Dave said.
The Murrays said Cassidy was hit by the propeller. There was no first aid kit on the boat, they said. Cassidy then died from her injuries on a nearby beach.
“We went there as a family on vacation, as a family of four and we didn’t come home as a family of four,” Linda said.
Aruban authorities ruled Cassidy’s death accidental. The Murrays said they met with the Aruban prime minister, who vowed to make watersport safety a priority.
Now, 14 months later, the Murrays said they’ve seen no change.
“What Dave and I don’t understand is why incremental changes aren’t happening such as a spotter on the boat, a safe plan of action when you get thrown from the raft,” Linda said.
Inside Edition aired a report Friday night where they traveled to the same Aruba beach where this incident happened. They found no new safety measures.
Host Deborah Norville spoke with 7NEWS this week.
“We do these stories and we like to have a positive ending and something good has happened,” she said. “That’s not the case here and that’s why we’re doing this story — to help this family as they try to apply pressure.”
The Murrays are now working alongside their US Congressman Stephen Lynch, who said he’s prepared to request a travel advisory for Aruba from the State Department if changes are not made.
The advisory, Lynch said, would be in place “so that other families would at least have fore-knowledge if they were unwilling to actually make the changes necessary to make it safer.”
In the meantime, the Murrays said the best thing they can do is spread a warning themselves that they wish they had before their trip.
“Think about Cassidy and that family that didn’t get to take her home,” Linda said. “And if it means saying ‘no’ to kids, as long as they’re safe, say ‘no.’”
As the summer months approach, the Murrays said anyone heading out in someone else’s boat should ask questions about the safety plan in case someone ends up in the water.
Lynch said he is working with the US Consulate General in Aruba and said negotiations are ongoing with the Aruban government.
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