Updated 08/27/2008 07:41 PM
Family Calls For Action After Girl's Drowning
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A day after the body of a Bronx girl who slipped on a rock and fell into the Niagara River earlier this month was identified, a spokesman for the family called for charges against the people he says are responsible for her death.
New York State Parks Police said a body discovered by kayakers on Saturday is that of 12-year-old Magdalena Lubowska – a student at P.S. 60 in the Bronx.
Lubowska recently emigrated from Warsaw to care for her ailing grandmother.
"We lost the most important person of our family," said Magdalena's father Mariusz Lubowski.
Authorities say the girl was on a camping trip with a group of about 20 kids on August 13 when during a hike it's believed she slipped off a rock and drowned in the lower Niagara River. It wasn't until Saturday that her body was spotted by the kayakers.
"From the moment the medical examiner identified Magdalena, her parents took possession of her body and have carried her body all the way here down to the Bronx – from Niagara Falls to Buffalo to the Bronx," said the family's attorney Gus Michael Farinella.
"She's with us. She needs rest. She is very tired. She needs peace. So she is home," said Mariusz Lubowski.
A spokesman for the family said the Hedges Family Camp should be held responsible for the girl's death and is calling on the local district attorney to press charges.
"There is no way on God's good earth that those children should have been placed in the care of a 23-year-old boy to hike one of the most dangerous trails near one of the most dangerous waters in the United States, which lead to the death of Magdalena," said Farinella.
Magdalena's family is mourning her loss, but their lawyer says the tour guide and organizers of the trip are being investigated.
"At this point we are allowing the criminal authorities – that's the district attorney in Niagara Falls to conduct a criminal investigation," said Farinella.
Funeral services for Lubowska are being held in the Bronx Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at 920 Allerton Avenue in Bronxdale. A mass will be held in Lubowska's honor on Saturday.