NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – A devastated family is turning their tragedy into purpose as they demand changes for an Airbnb in South Florida.<\/p>\n
Adeanah Francis and her family were visiting from Atlanta for a vacation. Now, they\u2019re demanding change after her 4-year-old daughter, Kennedi Ray, drowned in the pool of an Airbnb in Northeast Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what we lost,\u201d said Francis, holding up a photo of her daughter.<\/p>\n
The heartbroken family shared their agony after the unthinkable happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hurt and nothing in this world could ever make it better. My child is gone,\u201d said Francis.<\/p>\n
Francis and her family hope their pain will help spur change to prevent other tragedies from happening again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe loved her so much, we miss her so much,\u201d said Francis.<\/p>\n
While staying at an Airbnb in the Ives Estates area along Northeast 15th Avenue on March 5, the 4-year-old Ray drowned in a pool.<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s lawyer said it happened in the middle of the morning while the rest of the family as still asleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cA child got access to the backyard, no alarm went off, no barriers were there, and we lost Kennedi,\u201d said Adam Finkel, the family\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n
After the horrific incident, Francis and her family now want the removal of the property from rental listings and urging for the enforcement of Florida\u2019s Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act, which requires barriers, fences and self-closing gates around pools to help prevent child drownings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to all the short-term rental companies, including Airbnb, do more, care more,\u201d said Finkel. \u201cBefore you put a house that has a pool, make sure there are barriers are in place, make sure that the alarms work, make sure that the critical life safety measures are around the pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis hopes her message brings accountability to short-term rental properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a mother and I wouldn\u2019t want any one of you to go through this pain,\u201d said Francis.<\/p>\n
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children from ages of 1-4. Children with autism are also 160 times more likely to drown.<\/p>\n
Francis said her daughter had autism.<\/p>\n
The family is expected to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
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