We wanted him alive, but God gave us the chance to say goodbye
Dheorge disappeared May 24 after a jet ski accident with friend Bruna, who was rescued two days later after 42 hours at sea with hypothermia. His body was recovered on June 1 during coordinated nine-day search involving Navy, Air Force, Fire Department, and Civil Defense across multiple agencies.
- Dheorge Pereira Bernardino disappeared May 24 on a jet ski with companion Bruna Damaris Sant'anna da Silva
- Bruna was rescued after 42 hours adrift with hypothermia; Dheorge's body found June 1 after seven days
- Nine-day coordinated search involved Navy, Air Force, Fire Department, Civil Defense, and police helicopter
Brazilian authorities confirmed the body found in Ilhabela is Dheorge Pereira Bernardino, missing for seven days after a jet ski accident. His companion was rescued after 42 hours adrift.
On a Sunday afternoon in late May, two friends set out on a jet ski from a beach gathering near Ilhabela, on São Paulo's coast. They did not say where they were going. By evening, neither had returned. What began as a casual outing became a search that would span nine days, involve multiple government agencies, and end in loss.
Dheorge Pereira Bernardino was in the water for seven days. His body was recovered on the morning of June 1st near Praia do Pedro Arnaldo, confirming what rescue teams had begun to suspect. The Brazilian Navy, which coordinated the operation, announced the discovery after days of coordinated searching that deployed naval vessels, a helicopter, an Air Force aircraft, fire department boats, civil defense personnel, and a police helicopter in what officials described as an uninterrupted effort across nine consecutive days.
The other person on the jet ski that day was Bruna Damaris Sant'anna da Silva, 26 years old. She was found two days after the accident, on May 26th, roughly 18 to 22 kilometers from where they had started. She had spent 42 hours adrift in the ocean, weakened and suffering from hypothermia. In a statement posted to social media weeks later, she described staying with Dheorge in the water for about two days. A strong current had pulled them away from the jet ski, which was sinking. She never saw him go under. "We stayed together the whole time until early Tuesday morning," she wrote. "My colleague didn't take off his life jacket and I didn't see him sinking."
Bruna explained her silence in the days following her rescue by saying she was recovering physically and emotionally, unable to relive what had happened. She said she had provided all information to police. The authorities, meanwhile, classified the case as a suspicious death and opened an administrative inquiry to examine what caused the accident, the circumstances surrounding it, and any potential responsibility.
Dheorge's sister, Lorrane Pereira, had spent the week mobilizing people online to help with the search. When the body was identified, she posted a statement that carried the weight of a week's hope collapsing into acceptance. "It didn't end the way we wanted," she wrote. "We wanted him well, we wanted him alive. But God gave us the chance to say goodbye to him. We're going to bring him home, we're going to say goodbye, and that's it." She thanked everyone who had participated in the search.
The municipality of Ilhabela issued a statement expressing solidarity with the family and gratitude for the effort of all the teams involved. The Navy's formal statement emphasized the coordination between institutions and their commitment to preserving human life at sea. But the machinery of rescue, however well-coordinated, had arrived too late for one of the two people in the water that day.
Citações Notáveis
We wanted him well, we wanted him alive. But God gave us the chance to say goodbye to him.— Lorrane Pereira, Dheorge's sister, in a social media statement
We stayed together the whole time until early Tuesday morning. My colleague didn't take off his life jacket and I didn't see him sinking.— Bruna Damaris Sant'anna da Silva, in a statement describing the 42 hours adrift
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a jet ski accident on a Sunday afternoon become a seven-day search involving the Navy and Air Force?
Because two people vanished into the ocean without telling anyone where they were going. When they didn't come back, no one knew where to look. The search had to be massive and coordinated just to have a chance.
The companion survived 42 hours adrift. What made the difference between her living and him not?
She was found. He wasn't found in time. We don't know exactly what happened to him in those seven days in the water. The current took them both, but their fates diverged.
His sister kept posting on social media during the search. What was that doing for her?
It was how she kept the search alive. Every post was a plea, a way to keep people looking, to keep hope visible. When the body was found, that same tool became how she said goodbye.
The authorities are calling it a suspicious death. What does that mean?
It means they don't yet understand what happened. An inquiry will try to piece together the causes and circumstances. But some questions may never have answers.
Why does the Navy's statement emphasize coordination between agencies so much?
Because in maritime rescue, coordination is everything. When it works, people live. When it fails, they don't. The Navy is saying: we did this right, we worked together, we tried. It's also a way of honoring the effort when the outcome is still tragic.