A Connecticut man watched his wife plummet to her death after her harness snapped while they were parasailing together while on vacation in Florida on Wednesday.
Stephen Miskell, 31, and Kathleen Miskell, 28, were soaring some 200 feet above the waters off Pompano Beach at about 3:15 p.m. when Kathleen's harness broke, firefighters told the Miami Herald.
The boat's operators quickly reeled Stephen Miskell in and circled back to pick up his wife, who was floating face down in the water, authorities said.
Kathleen Miskell was in cardiac arrest, and the boat crew performed CPR until they were met by paramedics ashore, firefighters said.
She was rushed to North Broward Health Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The couple was from Wethersfield, where Kathleen Miskell worked for the school system and her husband own a tiling company, friends told the Herald.
"They were very nice friendly people," Connecticut neighbor Kristy Pierce told the Sun Sentinel. "They moved in a few months ago.
"I actually just brought some cupcakes over to them when they first moved in and they were very excited, very friendly. They invited us over."
The parasailing company, Wave Blast Water Sports, which operates out of the Sands Hotel, didn't comment on the accident.
On its Facebook page, the company says it rents water sports equipment like jet skis and wave runners and conducts fishing and snorkeling tours, in addition to parasailing.
The young woman's death was the second in Pompano Beach in recent years, according to local reports.
In 2007, Amber White, 15, was tandem parasailing with her sister Crystal when a gust of wind snapped their tether and sent the girls crashing onto a roof of a nearby hotel. Crystal suffered head and face injuries.
An investigation showed the boat operator ignored warnings about an oncoming thunderstorm, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Local critics say many water sports companies operate with little oversight since there are no state or federal regulations with regard to parasailing.
"A lot of times it's just a guy on a boat looking to make money," Jason Chalik, a local attorney who has handled several parasail death cases, told the Herald.
"How many people have to die before they do something?" he asked.
pcaulfield@nydailynews.com With News Wire Services
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