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AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL VANISHED LESS THAN 15 MINUTES INTO A LATE-NIGHT BOAT RIDE. THE WOMAN RESPONSIBLE FOR HER CARE SWAM TO SHORE — AND NEVER CALLED 911.

THE DEATH OF ANGELIQUE CUNNINGHAM
Lake Erie, Ohio | July 1, 2026

Eleven-year-old Angelique Cunningham left for a recreational boat ride on Lake Erie with a close family friend and a man who owned the boat.

Less than 15 minutes after they left the marina, Angelique was missing.

By the end of the night, the woman responsible for her care had swum to shore. The boat's owner would later be found dead in the water.

And Angelique's mother was still unaware that her 11-year-old daughter was gone.

Around 10:36 p.m. on July 1, 2026, Angelique boarded a boat at Meinke Marina West in Jerusalem Township, Ohio. She was with 41-year-old Kristen Marie Gerrie and 38-year-old Jonathan Ciha, the owner and driver of the boat.

Authorities initially referred to Gerrie as Angelique's babysitter, but Angelique's family described her as a neighbor. Investigators later clarified that Gerrie was a very close family friend whom Angelique's family trusted enough to allow the child to go on the recreational boat ride.

Angelique was in Gerrie's care that night.

According to court documents, the boat was on Lake Erie for less than 15 minutes before Angelique went missing.

Something happened on that boat.

Investigators have not publicly explained exactly what.

What authorities have revealed is that Angelique and Jonathan somehow ended up in the water.

Gerrie survived.

She swam to shore and knocked on a stranger's door seeking help.

But investigators say Gerrie did not call 911.

She did not contact Angelique's mother.

Instead, authorities say she called a friend to come pick her up.

It was Angelique's mother who eventually contacted authorities hours later and reported that her daughter was missing.

By then, investigators were dealing with a confusing and severely delayed search involving a missing 11-year-old girl, a missing boat owner, and a boat that would later be recovered completely empty near West Sister Island.

Angelique was reportedly not a strong swimmer.

On the morning of July 2, a boater discovered Jonathan Ciha's body floating approximately a mile offshore and called 911.

The Lucas County Coroner's Office later determined that the 38-year-old had drowned and classified his death as accidental.

Angelique was still missing.

A massive search unfolded across Lake Erie as multiple agencies searched the water and shoreline for the 11-year-old. The operation eventually shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery effort.

On July 3, Gerrie was arrested.

She was charged with child endangerment, a charge that was later upgraded to a felony.

Then, on Sunday, July 5, a park ranger discovered the body of a young girl in the water near the Lake Erie shoreline in Jerusalem Township.

The Lucas County Coroner's Office confirmed the child was Angelique Cunningham.

Her cause of death was drowning.

Her death was classified as accidental.

But the investigation into what happened during those few minutes on the boat is not over.

Lucas County Sheriff's Office Captain Robert Chromik addressed the account Gerrie has given investigators.

"She's telling her truth, however; we believe there's a much bigger truth out there," Chromik said.

Investigators say Gerrie has been interviewed by both the Lucas County Sheriff's Office and Toledo Police.

"We don't know what happened on that boat," Chromik said. "What we do know — we have two people that have been determined to have drowned in Lake Erie, and we have an adult female that left that scene after she was responsible for Angelique Cunningham's care."

Authorities have also pushed back against unverified social media claims circulating about Jonathan Ciha, saying the online narratives have no credence to who he was.

For investigators, the focus remains on reconstructing a boat ride that lasted less than 15 minutes before an 11-year-old child disappeared.

Three people left the marina.

Two drowned.

One swam to shore.

And hours passed before Angelique's mother knew her daughter was missing.

Gerrie posted a $50,000 surety bond and appeared in court on July 7. A judge ordered her to have no contact with Angelique's family as the felony child endangerment case moves forward.

Angelique Cunningham was 11 years old.

Her death has officially been ruled an accidental drowning.

But investigators are still trying to determine what happened on that boat during the final minutes of her life.












© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished

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