More than a week after her family’s boat capsized in Florida, authorities found the body of 3-year-old Victoria Marin. The discovery led to the end of a 10-day search following a tragic boating accident. On March 21, 2025, Cristian Marin took his children, Juan Camilo and Victoria, and his mother, Nubia Romero, on a boat ride in the St. John’s River. But the boat capsized, throwing the victims in the water. The US Coast Guard immediately searched, hoping to find survivors.
The Coast Guard rescued four people but just as quickly began to find victims. Per WJAX, the Coast Guard searched for the victims and found Romero’s body the first night. On March 23, they located Cristian Marin’s body, and on March 24, they found the body of Juan Camilo, but Victoria remained missing. Finally, on March 31, authorities recovered her body from a construction site along the river.
According to First Coast News, no one on the capsized boat was wearing a life jacket.
Family friend Herman Larotta told First Coast News, “It’s a bittersweet taste for all of us. The family now has some closure. Where there’s a will there’s a way.”
The accident left a widow and mother behind. Larotta said of Paula Andrea Valderrama Perez, “She’s not 100%, but if she could be here to thank you all and to give hugs and special thanks to everyone, she would.”
“This is an active investigation. We’ll provide additional details when available. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family during this difficult time,” the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission shared with First Coast News in a statement.
Loved ones created a GoFundMe account for Valderrama Perez. It reads in part, “Cristian was a devoted father, and his children, Victoria and Juan Camilo, were young souls full of promise and love. Nubia Romero, Cristian’s mother, had traveled from Colombia to visit her family and was tragically taken from them in this unexpected accident. This profound loss has left Paula Valderrama, Cristian’s wife and the mother of Victoria and Juan Camilo, facing unimaginable grief as she navigates the heartbreaking loss of her beloved family members.”
The GoFundMe has raised more than $76,000 of an $80,000 goal thus far.
