The current was strong and leading us to open sea
Off the coast of Ilhabela, in the waters that separate the São Paulo shoreline from the open Atlantic, the sea returned what it had taken — but only after nine days. Dheorge Pereira Bernardino, 28 anos, desapareceu em 24 de maio após um acidente de jet ski com a colega Bruna Damaris, que sobreviveu à deriva por quase dois dias antes de ser resgatada. Seu corpo foi encontrado perto da Ilha de Búzios em 1º de junho, encerrando uma busca que mobilizou bombeiros marítimos, a Marinha do Brasil e aeronaves — e pondo fim a nove dias de espera angustiante para uma família que já sabia, mas ainda esperava.
- O jet ski começou a afundar em pleno mar aberto, com correntes fortes arrastando os dois para longe da costa e de qualquer possibilidade de socorro imediato.
- Bruna sobreviveu à deriva por quase 48 horas antes de ser resgatada em 26 de maio; Dheorge não teve a mesma sorte, e o mar guardou seu paradeiro por mais nove dias.
- A operação de busca cresceu progressivamente: três embarcações e oito bombeiros marítimos, dois navios da Marinha com sete tripulantes, e uma aeronave varrendo a extensão do oceano.
- Bruna quebrou o silêncio publicamente em 29 de maio, descrevendo a sequência dos fatos — a infiltração de água, o afundamento, a correnteza — e confirmando que já havia prestado depoimento à polícia.
- A recuperação do corpo em 1º de junho encerrou a busca ativa, mas foi a irmã de Dheorge, Lorrane, quem confirmou a descoberta nas redes sociais — transformando a notícia oficial em luto humano.
Na tarde de 24 de maio, Dheorge Pereira Bernardino e sua colega Bruna Damaris deixaram uma embarcação maior para dar uma volta de jet ski nas águas de Ilhabela, no litoral de São Paulo. Testemunhas os viram partir. O que aconteceu depois se desenrolou longe de qualquer ajuda: o jet ski começou a tomar água, afundou, e os dois se viram à deriva em um mar sem clemência. Bruna, 26 anos, conseguiu se manter à tona por quase dois dias até ser resgatada em 26 de maio. Dheorge, 28, não sobreviveu.
Com o resgate de Bruna, as buscas por Dheorge se intensificaram. Os Bombeiros Marítimos mobilizaram três embarcações e oito mergulhadores; a Marinha do Brasil enviou dois navios e uma aeronave para varrer o oceano. Por uma semana, o mar não revelou nada. Em 29 de maio, Bruna publicou um relato no Instagram descrevendo a infiltração de água, a correnteza que os arrastou para o largo e o afundamento inevitável da máquina. Suas palavras eram medidas — o testemunho de quem sobreviveu ao que matou a pessoa ao seu lado.
Na manhã de 1º de junho, nove dias após o desaparecimento, o corpo de Dheorge foi localizado próximo à Ilha de Búzios pelos Bombeiros Marítimos. Foi sua irmã Lorrane quem confirmou a descoberta nas redes sociais, transformando um comunicado oficial em luto concreto. A busca havia terminado, mas os nove dias de espera — a mobilização, a vigília, a esperança que vai cedendo lugar à certeza — permaneciam como testemunho silencioso do peso humano por trás de cada operação de resgate.
The search ended on a Monday morning near Búzios Island. After nine days of uncertainty, the body of Dheorge Pereira Bernardino, 28, was recovered by the Maritime Fire Department in the waters off Ilhabela, on São Paulo's coast. His sister Lorrane confirmed the discovery through social media, bringing an agonizing chapter to a close that had begun the previous Sunday when Dheorge and a colleague, Bruna Damaris, set out on a jet ski and vanished into the Atlantic.
The two had met aboard a larger vessel before deciding to take the jet ski out that late afternoon of May 24. Witnesses on the original boat saw them leave together. What happened next unfolded in the open water, far from help. The jet ski began taking on water—a slow, then accelerating failure. Bruna, 26, would later describe the moment: the machine sinking beneath them, the current pulling hard, the two of them fighting to stay afloat in conditions that offered no mercy. She managed to survive, clinging to whatever buoyancy she could find, drifting for nearly two days before rescue arrived on May 26. Dheorge did not.
When Bruna was pulled from the water, the search for her companion intensified. The Maritime Fire Department deployed three boats, two smaller craft, and a speedboat, with eight firefighters coordinating the effort. The Brazilian Navy joined in, sending two vessels crewed by seven personnel, and added an aircraft to scan the vast expanse of ocean where a man might disappear. By Sunday, May 31—a week into the search—the operation had grown into a full maritime mobilization. Still, the sea kept its secret for another night.
Bruna spoke publicly on Friday, May 29, posting on Instagram to address what had happened. She said she had already given a full account to police and explained the sequence of events as she experienced them: the water invasion, the impossible physics of trying to hold onto a sinking machine in a strong current that dragged them seaward. She acknowledged she had not yet had the chance to speak with Dheorge's family. Her words were measured, factual, the account of someone who had survived something that killed the person beside her.
The recovery of Dheorge's body on June 1 ended the active search but not the questions that linger when the sea claims someone. Nine days had passed since he left that boat. Nine days of his family waiting, hoping, then grieving. The Maritime Fire Department's announcement of the discovery was clinical, a statement of fact. But behind it lay the full weight of what those nine days meant—the mobilization of resources, the coordination across agencies, the vigil kept by people who loved him, and the moment when a sister had to confirm what she already knew but had not wanted to believe.
Notable Quotes
It was impossible to keep holding on. The current was strong and carrying us toward open water.— Bruna Damaris, describing the jet ski sinking and the conditions at sea
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it take nine days to find someone in waters that are being actively searched?
The ocean is vast and indifferent. A body in the water can drift, sink, get caught in currents. Even with boats and aircraft, you're looking for something small in something immense. Nine days is actually not unusual.
Bruna survived nearly two days adrift. What was the difference between her and Dheorge?
Chance, mostly. She found something to hold onto. The current that killed him may have separated them quickly. Survival at sea is often about what's within arm's reach in the first moments.
She said she hadn't spoken to his family yet. How does that conversation happen?
It doesn't, not easily. She was the last person with him. She lived and he didn't. There's no script for that conversation, no words that make sense of it.
The jet ski sank because water got inside. Was that a mechanical failure or human error?
The source doesn't say. Maybe both, maybe neither. A machine in rough water with strong currents—things fail. What matters is that it did.
What does nine days of searching actually accomplish if the body is found by chance?
It accomplishes closure. It brings someone home. It tells a family their loved one didn't simply vanish. It's not about prevention anymore—it's about dignity, about not leaving someone lost.