The final 5′ moments of the siblings’ rescue have been reconstructed! Following an incident involving the boat operated by Stephen Schneider, Mya and Sigmund entered Barnegat Bay. Their family quickly located them and brought them back onto the vessel.
The final 5′ moments of the siblings’ rescue have been reconstructed!
Following an incident involving the boat operated by Stephen Schneider, Mya and Sigmund entered Barnegat Bay. Their family quickly located them and brought them back onto the vessel.
However, both required immediate medical attention.
Details regarding their safety gear, the location where they were found, and the initial minutes following the event are helping investigators accurately reconstruct the rescue.
And one specific detail regarding how they were assisted aboard is drawing significant attention—read the full article to learn more.
**The final moments of the siblings’ rescue have been reconstructed**
Following the collision involving the boat operated by Stephen Schneider, 9-year-old Mya Bella Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Paul Golabek entered the dark waters of Barnegat Bay. Their family quickly located them and brought them back onto the vessel. Both children required immediate medical attention. Details regarding their safety gear, the location where they were found, and the initial minutes after the impact are helping investigators reconstruct the rescue sequence. One specific detail about how they were assisted back aboard has drawn particular attention.
### The collision and the ejection
On the evening of 19 July 2026, after a family dinner at MJ’s Restaurant Bar and Grill in Berkeley Township, New Jersey, Stephen Schneider, 64, operated his 28-foot Tidewater Custom 280 center-console boat across Barnegat Bay. His grandchildren, Mya and Sigmund, sat in the front of the vessel. Both wore life jackets. Schneider later told investigators he was traveling at approximately 20 mph when he saw Intracoastal Waterway Channel Marker No. 39 “at the last second.” The starboard bow struck the illuminated single-stanchion navigational aid. The force of the impact ejected both children overboard into the bay.
Schneider stated that the boat’s radar and an infrared/low-light night navigation camera were activated at the time. He described himself as an experienced boater who had traveled the route many times. Nevertheless the marker was struck, and the two children were in the water in darkness.
### The recovery
According to the probable-cause affidavit, Schneider immediately began searching for the children. He located Sigmund first and then Mya. Both were found face-down in the water and unresponsive. Schneider and his wife, Laurie, who was also on board, worked to bring the children back onto the boat. CPR was started at once.
The children’s grandmother placed the 911 call. Newly released recordings capture the urgency of those minutes. She told the dispatcher that one child was already on the boat and that her husband was still in the water trying to recover the other. When asked whether the children were unconscious, she answered, “Yes, yes they are!” She also attempted to confirm their exact location near channel marker 39.
The emergency call was logged at approximately 9:09 p.m. State troopers from the Marine Bureau and members of the Coast Guard responded. The children were transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River with resuscitation efforts continuing. Both were later pronounced dead.
### Safety gear and position in the water
Both children were wearing life jackets at the time of the ejection. Despite that protection, they were found face-down and unresponsive. Investigators have examined the type and condition of the life jackets, the children’s positions in the water, and the time that elapsed between the collision and their recovery. The fact that they were recovered relatively quickly yet could not be revived has focused attention on the combination of impact forces, water conditions, and the effects of immersion.
The affidavit notes that Schneider found Sigmund first and Mya second. The sequence of recovery, the face-down orientation of both children, and the immediate start of CPR form key data points in the reconstruction of the rescue.
### The initial minutes on the boat
Once the children were back on the vessel, CPR was performed while the 911 call continued. The grandmother’s recorded statements indicate that at least one child had already been brought aboard while the second was still being recovered from the water. The effort to convey accurate location information to responders while simultaneous resuscitation was underway added to the complexity of the scene.
Responders arrived to find both children unresponsive. Resuscitation continued during transport to the hospital. The children did not survive.
### The detail drawing attention
One element that has drawn significant attention in the reconstruction is the manner in which the children were assisted back onto the boat. Court documents and the 911 recordings together indicate that Schneider entered the water himself to locate and recover them, while Laurie remained on the vessel, managed the emergency call, and assisted once each child was brought alongside. The physical difficulty of lifting unresponsive children wearing water-logged life jackets onto a boat in darkness, while one adult remained in the water and the other handled communications and initial care, has been noted by investigators examining the sequence.
The combination of the rapid recovery, the face-down positions, the immediate CPR, and the challenges of the onboard environment forms the core of the current reconstruction of those first critical minutes.
### The wider case context
Schneider later told investigators he had consumed three beers over approximately two hours before the crash. A blood sample drawn under warrant in the early hours of 20 July measured a blood alcohol concentration of 0.16 percent — twice the legal limit. Toxicology experts concluded that his alertness, judgment, response time and coordination were markedly impaired. He was charged with two counts of second-degree reckless vessel homicide, operating a vessel under the influence, and reckless operation of a vessel. He was later released on conditions pending trial after the children’s parents submitted letters supporting his release.
The 911 recordings and the affidavit remain the primary public sources for the rescue sequence. They show a family responding immediately to a catastrophic event in darkness, recovering two children who were unresponsive despite life jackets, and beginning CPR while simultaneously calling for professional help. The children did not survive. The reconstruction of those minutes continues to inform both the investigation and the public understanding of how the final moments unfolded on Barnegat Bay.
