Inset, left to right: Kristen Gerrie (Lucas County Corrections Center) and Angelique Cunningham (Facebook). Background: Meinke Marina in Ohio (Google Maps).
A 41-year-old Ohio woman is accused of endangering an 11-year-old girl who disappeared just minutes into a boat ride on Lake Erie and was later found dead in the water.
Police took Kristen Gerrie into custody last week and charged her with one count of child endangerment with creating a substantial risk to health or safety after Angelique Cunningham vanished shortly after the boat left the harbor. Authorities confirmed her death on Monday.
Angelique, Gerrie, and 38-year-old Jonathan Ciha departed from Meinke Marina in Jerusalem Township late Wednesday evening aboard a recreational boat, according to a report from Toledo, Ohio, ABC affiliate WTVG.
Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre reportedly told the station that the child was no longer on the vessel less than 15 minutes after it departed.
Investigators have not publicly disclosed what happened aboard the boat.
Angelique's family members told WTVG that Gerrie was one of the victim's neighbors.
Dispatchers first received a call around 1:30 a.m. Thursday from a woman who claimed she had swum to shore from a boat, The Toledo Blade reported. That woman was later identified as Gerrie.
About nine hours later, emergency crews responded to a distress call near the Toledo water intake crib, where searchers recovered Ciha's body floating in the water near the Meinke Marina.
In a Monday news release, the Lucas County Coroner's Office ruled that Ciha drowned, though the circumstances and manner of his death remain under investigation.
The boat was later found empty near West Sister Island, local CBS affiliate WTOL reported.
As crews searched the western basin of Lake Erie, officials announced Friday they had exhausted all available resources and transitioned the operation from a rescue mission to a recovery effort.
On Sunday morning, searchers found Angelique's remains near the shoreline by Meinke Marina "in the same vicinity" where Ciha's body was recovered. An autopsy performed that day confirmed her death was also "consistent with drowning."
Investigators have not said what evidence led to Gerrie's arrest beyond alleging that Angelique was in her care when she disappeared. Family members described Gerrie as the girl's neighbor, while the sheriff's office identified her as the child's caregiver, WTVG reported.
Gerrie was released from detention after posting a $50,000 surety bond. She is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on Tuesday, records show.