Man Who Swam Five Hours To Shore Held Under Baker Act

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Man Who Swam Five Hours To Shore Held Under Baker Act

POSTED: 6:54 a.m. EDT June 25, 2003
UPDATED: 10:18 a.m. EDT June 25, 2003

A father who swam five hours to shore with his 11-year-old daughter after their 8-foot sailboat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean is being held for a psychological evaluation, officials said Tuesday.


After a daylong search, Benjamin Dilalla Jr., 42, and his daughter Celeste were found Monday evening just as they came ashore near Floridana Beach, said Brevard County sheriff's Agent Gary Harrell.

Suffering from hypothermia, they were taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center. The father was in fair condition Tuesday while the daughter was in good condition, hospital spokesman Chris McGahee said.


Harrell said the man, who has sole custody of his daughter, thought poisonous gases were spreading across mainland Florida and taking his daughter out to sea was the only way to save her. They are from the DeLand area.

"He has some mental-health or behavioral issues and apparently had stopped taking his medication," Harrell told the Orlando Sentinel for a Wednesday story.

He said Dilalla was hospitalized under the Baker Act, which lets a person be held for up to 72 hours for a psychological evaluation. The state Department of Children & Families took custody of the girl, he said.

The two apparently began sailing their dinghy sized boat late Sunday night after Dilalla parked his truck at in Melbourne Beach, about 10 miles north of where they swam ashore.

Police found the truck and saw that someone had dragged a small boat into the water.

"That's when the hunt began," Harrell said.

Investigators became even more concerned when debris -- including a seat, a mast and a pair of men's boots -- washed ashore.

"We were fearing the worst, that the boat broke up out there," Harrell said.

Dilalla's daughter told investigators she slept in the boat most of the night, but woke up in the morning to find it taking on water, Harrell said.

After the vessel overturned, she said they held on to the hull until they could see land, then began the grueling five-hour swim to shore.

A helicopter, boats and all-terrain vehicles searched for the boat Monday, but it was not recovered.