11-Year-Old Vanishes From Lake Erie Boat; Sitter Charged

The Night of July 1

Angelique Cunningham was 11 years old when her neighbor took her out on a boat on Lake Erie on a Wednesday night in early July. The voyage, according to court documents filed July 6, 2026, lasted less than 15 minutes after the boat left Meinke Marina.

Angelique did not come back. On July 6, the Lucas County Coroner confirmed that the body found near the Lake Erie shoreline on July 5 was hers. The coroner determined she drowned.

What Happened on the Water

On the night of July 1, 2026, Angelique left from Meinke Marina in Jerusalem Township, Ohio, aboard a small boat with two adults: Kristen Gerrie, 41, her neighbor, and Jonathan Ciha, 38, the boat’s owner and operator. The boat departed at 10:36 p.m. According to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, Gerrie ‘placed Angelique on a boat with a known associate’ and the child went missing within 15 minutes.

Ciha’s body was found in the water near Meinke Marina the following morning, July 2, when a passing boater called 911. The deputy coroner determined he also drowned. Gerrie was able to swim to shore after the incident and subsequently made contact with family members, who then contacted police.

The boat was recovered near West Sister Island, an uninhabited island in the western end of Lake Erie.

Five Days on Lake Erie

Multiple agencies - Toledo Fire and Rescue, the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, and others - launched an immediate multi-agency search. Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong announced on July 3 that active search operations were being suspended after crews had exhausted available resources. She said the operation had transitioned from a rescue mission to a recovery mission.

On July 5, a body was found near the shoreline in Curtice, Ohio. On July 6, the Lucas County Coroner confirmed it was Angelique Cunningham.

What the Complaint Says

Kristen Gerrie was arrested in Toledo on July 3 and charged with two counts of child endangerment. She is being held in the Lucas County Jail on a $50,000 bond. She is not accused of harming Angelique directly - the charges reflect prosecutors’ allegation that she placed the child in an unreasonably dangerous situation.

Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre told reporters that Gerrie had been described by the sheriff’s office as Angelique’s babysitter, while family members described her as a neighbor who had taken the child out. Those details remain part of the ongoing investigation.

The full circumstances of the boat ride - what exactly occurred during those 15 minutes on the water - have not been released by authorities.

Angelique Cunningham

Angelique was 11 years old. She lived in Toledo. Her family has not made public statements.

She went out on a boat with a neighbor on a summer night. She was gone within 15 minutes. On July 6, the coroner put her name to the body found in Lake Erie the day before.

References: ‘The voyage lasted less than 15 minutes’: court docs filed in 11-year-old’s death in Lake Erie | Crews searching Lake Erie for missing Toledo girl; man’s body recovered | Body Recovered Near Lake Erie Believed to Be Missing 11-Year-Old Angelique Cunningham

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