By Fox News (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-28 15:56:56 | Updated at 2026-07-28 17:52:57
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A 20-year-old New Jersey woman died in Florida while vacationing with friends and touring historic ruins, according to reports.
Victoria Zardoya, 20, died after friends said she fell while visiting Fort Dade on Egmont Key, Florida on Friday.
The remote island is located at the mouth of Tampa Bay and is only accessible by boat.
Zardoya was a close friend of Milania Guidice, who is the daughter of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Guidice.
Victoria Zardoya, 20, died after her friends say she fell from ruins while visiting a popular tourist destination in Florida. (Victoria Zardoya Instagram/Meta)
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The Guidice family has been posting tributes and condolences on various social media platforms, E! News reported.
A woman named Victoria Silberbusch, who said she was a friend of Zardoya, created a lengthy post on social media detailing her account of the alleged incident.
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Silberbusch said Zardoya fell from the ruins while the group of friends was on a boating tour of the island.
The group of friends was allegedly touring the ruins of Fort Dade on Egmont Key in Florida. (Getty Images: James Robert Smith)
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She described Zardoya's injuries as "brutal" and maintains that "no one hesitated" to jump into action to render aid to the victim.
Friends to Victoria Zardoya have been posting tributes to the victim on social media. (Victoria Zardoya Instagram/Meta)
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After the group called 911 and sent flares from boats, paramedics reportedly responded by boat and a medical helicopter flew the victim to a nearby hospital.
The victim reportedly died of her injuries two days later.
Victoria Zardoya was reportedly killed while touring ruins on Egmont Key, her friends claim. (Tinik)
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"Victoria was never alone. From the moment she fell, every person there did everything within their power to help her," Silberbusch said.
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According to calls for service logs for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, it appears the agency responded to an incident on Egmont Key on Friday just before 5 p.m. and cleared out the event by 11:16 p.m. on the same day.
Fort Dade is a popular tourist destination for boating visitors on Egmont Key. (Getty Images: Jim Vallee)
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Fox News Digital has requested a copy of the incident report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
