‘Vessel of interest’ seized in boat collision that killed 15-year-old while water-skiing

JERRY LAMBE
May 14th, 2024, 4:20 pm

Law enforcement authorities in Florida on Tuesday announced they have identified and located a “vessel of interest” in connection with the death of 15-year-old Ella Adler, who was struck and killed while water-skiing with friends in Miami over the weekend. The individual driving the boat that allegedly struck Adler did not stop following the fatal collision.

According to a news release from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), officers at about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, responded to a call regarding a boating incident in Biscayne Bay near Nixon Beach Sandbar in Miami-Dade County.

Following a preliminary investigation, authorities said that Adler, a Miami Beach native, had been water-skiing with friends about one mile off the coast when she fell into the water while being towed. As she was waiting for her boat to circle around and pick her up, another boat then drove by and struck Adler, who died from her injuries.

While investigators said it was not immediately clear if the driver of the other boat was aware that they had struck someone in the water, authorities immediately began a search for the vessel. A reward of up to $20,000 had been offered for information leading to the identification of the boat that killed Adler, with those funds coming from her family, Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers, and the FWC.

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