A man was last seen dancing at a birthday celebration on the water before he went overboard from a boat and went missing over the weekend, new details from officials reveal.
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The loved ones of Akin Liverpool, 23, are now mourning the loss of someone they describe as a “bundle of joy.”
“Stand-up, young man. Came from Liberty City, Overtown,” his mother, Roshell, said. “From a mama that had him at 13. And they said that he wasn’t gonna be nothing. And he is. Just graduated May 11 with a double master’s from Barry University. And he graduated with a bachelor’s from Florida Memorial while he was Mr. Homecoming King.”
According to an incident report released by Florida Fish and Wildlife investigators, Liverpool came to the Austral Marina on Northwest River Drive last Friday with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday aboard the boat.
The FWC said the boat left the marina at 8 p.m. and anchored at Hobie Beach an hour later. It appeared everyone was still on board when the captain raised the anchor and started heading back to the marina at 10:30 p.m.
“During the trip, victim had consumed alcohol,” the FWC report said. “He was last seen dancing on the bow, and went overboard undetected on the return trip.”
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One of the people on board then noticed Liverpool was missing, and when they couldn’t find him, they told the captain, and the captain called law enforcement.
Liverpool’s body was found on Sunday near Brickell Key.
“I saw him before he left, but he told me, ‘Ma, I’ll be right back.’ And I’m still waiting on him,” Roshell said.
His family will be holding a vigil on Thursday night as they push for more answers.
“What stands out even more than football was the person he was,” Clavens Charles, Liverpool’s football coach at FMU, said in a statement. “Any time we had community service events, he was there. Any time someone needed help, he was willing to help. He cared about people and treated everyone with respect.”
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The case is under investigation.