WHAT HAPPENED AFTER DINNER? GRANDPA’S NIGHTTIME BOAT RIDE ENDS WITH TWO CHILDREN DE@D

BARNEGAT BAY, NEW JERSEY — What began as a family dinner and an ordinary evening on the water ended in unimaginable tragedy when two young siblings were thrown from their grandfather’s boat and later died.

Mya Golabek, 9, and her brother Sigmund Paul Golabek, 7, had spent the evening with their family at MJ’s Restaurant in Bayville. After dinner, the children wanted to return to their grandparents’ home, so they went aboard their grandfather Stephen Schneider’s approximately 30-foot boat.

Neither child would make it home.

THE FINAL BOAT RIDE

According to court documents, Schneider, 64, was operating the boat across Barnegat Bay at night when it struck a wooden channel marker at around 9 p.m.

The impact sent both children into the dark water.

Mya and Sigmund were wearing life jackets, but rescuers found them face-down and unresponsive. Schneider and his wife pulled the children from the water and began CPR before they were taken to a hospital.

Both children later died.

WHAT DID SCHNEIDER DRINK BEFORE THE CRASH?

This has become a central issue in the criminal case.

Schneider reportedly told investigators that he had consumed three beers during the approximately two-hour outing at the restaurant.

However, authorities determined that he was significantly impaired and allegedly unfit to operate the vessel, citing problems with his alertness, judgment, perception, reaction time and coordination.

Later court proceedings brought additional information about his alleged level of intoxication.

Schneider has been charged with two counts of reckless vessel homicide, along with operating a vessel under the influence and reckless operation of a vessel.

THE CHILDREN HAD NOT BEEN SUPPOSED TO DIE THAT NIGHT

Perhaps the most heartbreaking detail is why Mya and Sigmund were on their grandfather’s boat in the first place.

They had been with their parents for dinner.

Afterward, the children wanted to go back with their grandparents.

It was a choice that, at the time, likely felt completely harmless.

Instead, it became the final decision their parents would ever make involving them that evening.

A FAMILY NOW FACING TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAIN

The case has become even more complicated because the children’s father later asked the court to release Schneider from custody.

A judge ultimately released the 64-year-old while the criminal proceedings continue.

For the family, the situation is almost impossible to comprehend.

They are grieving two children who were siblings, playmates and best friends — while simultaneously dealing with criminal allegations against their grandfather.

THE QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN

Investigators will now have to establish exactly what happened during those final minutes on Barnegat Bay.

Why did the boat strike the channel marker?

How impaired was Schneider?

Could the collision have been prevented?

And what responsibility does he bear for the deaths of Mya and Sigmund?

Those questions will ultimately be addressed through the criminal proceedings.

But no court ruling can change what happened that night.

Two children boarded their grandfather’s boat after a family dinner. Minutes later, a collision sent them into the darkness of Barnegat Bay.

Mya was 9.

Sigmund was 7.

Their family expected them home.

Instead, they were left with memories — and a tragedy that will follow them for the rest of their lives. 💔🕊️

Stephen Schneider has been charged but remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.