By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-21 03:35:40 | Updated at 2026-06-21 05:20:48
2 hours ago
The family of the young woman hurled to her death in a rope jump blunder in Brazil have exclusively told the Daily Mail of their anguish – and that their 'Duda' planned to marry soon.
Heartbreaking footage shared by her relatives shows Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, cycling along a beach with her boyfriend and two others before the fateful trip that ended with her being launched from a 130-foot bridge without a rope attached.
The smiling young woman, affectionately known as Duda, can be seen in the video enjoying the dusk as she pedals alongside the group - a devastating contrast to the final moments of her life just days later.
Her family said the 21-year-old had a future packed with plans, including completing her studies, building a career in fitness and starting a family of her own.
But those dreams were destroyed on June 13 when she was thrown from the Ponte do Esqueleto - or Skeleton Bridge - in Limeira, São Paulo state, during a pendulum-style rope jump.
Police say Duda was not connected to the safety equipment meant to stop her fall.
Her relatives have now described their grief in an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail through an attorney, saying her sudden death had left an unbearable void.
'With an immeasurable pain and a desolate heart the Rodrigues family addresses to the public in this very difficult moment, after the tragic and premature loss of our dear Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, affectionately known as Duda, at the age of 21,' the family said.
Heartbreaking footage shared by her relatives shows Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, cycling along a beach before the fateful trip that ended her life
Freitas, 21, was launched from a bridge in Sao Paolo, Brazil, last Sunday in a horrific on-camera incident
In an Instagram story, posted at around 7.30am, the woman showed the bridge and the grassland below, along with the caption: 'Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?'
They added that her death had cut short a promising young life that had just begun.
'Her abrupt departure interrupts a life full of plans and dreams, leaving a deep absence in all of us who love her,' the statement said.
Duda, who was born on Christmas Day, was described as a source of joy to those closest to her.
'Maria Eduarda, born on December 25, has always been a real gift for our family,' her relatives said.
'Since she was little, Duda stood out for her joy, her good mood and her contagious energy. We remember with affection every moment and our commitment to see her happy.'
The family said she was studying Physical Education after training in sports nutrition and had hoped to graduate next year.
They said her enthusiasm for the field was already visible in her work as a receptionist and intern at a gym in her hometown.
But the most painful loss, they said, was the future that will now never come.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, known as Duda, smiles in a turquoise gown and tiara during her 15th birthday celebration, her quinceañera
Duda poses beside the elaborate cake and floral display at her quinceañera, where decorations carried the words ‘Duda 15’
A younger Duda is embraced by her mother during the milestone celebration
Duda, dressed as Minnie Mouse, poses with her mother at a childhood costume party
Duda and her mother smile together during an outdoor family outing
'Duda had many dreams for the future,' her family said. 'She was dating and she planned to get married soon, with the desire to build her own family and give her grandparents the joy of meeting their children.'
All these life projects have been ripped away,' they added.
‘We greatly appreciate the support, the solidarity and the affection received from everyone, as well as the role of the press in the search for the truth and dissemination of this case,’ the family said.
‘We ask that the family’s privacy be respected in this period of great suffering.’
They signed the statement simply: ‘With a broken heart, the Rodrigues Family.’
The family also released family photographs showing Duda at her lavish 15th birthday celebration, beaming in a sparkling turquoise gown and tiara as she posed beside an elaborate cake and floral display.
Other treasured images show the young Brazilian with her mother during childhood, including one from a Minnie Mouse-themed costume party and another from an outdoor family outing.
Her relatives said Duda, born on Christmas Day, had always been ‘a real gift’ to the family, remembering her for her joy, good humor and ‘contagious energy.’
The tragedy unfolded at the abandoned bridge in Limeira, around 92 miles north of São Paulo, a site that had become known among thrill-seekers for rope-jumping events.
Unlike traditional bungee jumping, rope jumping typically uses low-stretch climbing ropes designed to turn a fall into a sweeping pendulum movement rather than a vertical bounce.
Duda had asked to be thrown from the bridge 'airplane style,' with her arms stretched wide as two instructors lifted her over their shoulders.
Video of the incident shows two helmeted men raising her into position before hurling her over the side.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, was arrested in connection with Rodrigues de Freitas's death. He frequently took to social media to share adrenaline-fueled antics from Skeleton Bridge in Sao Paolo. Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27
Three men were arrested for homicide with eventual intent following the tragic death
One of the instructors, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, seen in a previous bungee jump preparing to leap off the abandoned bridge with a child in his arms
The men appear to be wearing harnesses connected to a safety line. But the rope meant to catch Duda remained coiled on the bridge.
In the horrifying seconds that followed, she plunged 130 feet to the ground.
An onlooker can be heard yelling for the instructors to attach her to the cord as the catastrophe unfolded.
Duda was still breathing briefly after the fall but died at the scene.
Andrea Levy, a police investigator, said the three instructors initially detained in connection with the incident acknowledged that Duda had not been attached to any safety rope.
'They do not remember whether they forgot to attach the ropes, or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check,' Levy told journalists.
'But the fact is the ropes were not attached to her,' she added.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, and Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, were arrested in the aftermath and accused of homicide with eventual intent - an allegation that they undertook an act carrying a fatal risk without intending to kill.
The three were later released as the investigation continued.
Rodrigues de Freitas died after rope jump operators forgot to attach her harness, causing her to plunge 130 feet
Rodrigues de Freitas (right) was an aspiring physical education teacher. She was buried in Sao Paulo last Sunday
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was thrown to her death last Saturday
Feliciano Egoroff, who was at the front as Duda was lifted, told police that he and Fernandes Cintra were responsible for securing the rope, according to interrogation footage reported by EPTV.
'It's him or me who does that,' he explained.
But when questioned about what happened immediately before Duda was thrown, Feliciano Egoroff said: 'I went to the front first. After that it erased from my mind. I can't remember.'
Fernandes Cintra told investigators that he had been positioned near Duda's feet and said the job of attaching the rope was shared.
'In the procedure, sometimes I'm the one who places the rope, sometimes it's Felipe,' he said.
He added: 'It's us three on the job. I can't understand at what moment I didn't see the rope. I simply cannot understand.'
Police records reviewed by the Daily Mail state that Duda was handed a GoPro camera to record her descent.
But the camera, which may hold critical evidence of what happened on the bridge, has disappeared.
When asked where it was, de Freitas Goncalves told police: 'Right, yeah, we don't know.'
Three further people have since been arrested in the expanding investigation, the Daily Mail understands.
Under local rules, her family will have just four years before her remains must be exhumed to make room for another burial
A message on the ribbon loosely translated reads: 'Your family misses you'
An aerial view of the abandoned bridge that is a 130 foot drop to the ground
Local officials are moving to destroy the notorious structure once and for all, with demolition work beginning in the area early Wednesday morning
Heavy machinery moved in on Wednesday as authorities began the first phase of securing the Ponte do Esqueleto bridge ahead of its planned demolition following the fatal rope jump
One suspect is believed to be a woman arrested in Rio de Janeiro who police believe was the overall leader of the group involved in organizing the rope-jumping operation.
Two other suspects were arrested on Friday in Limeira and Indaiatuba, including one man believed to have been responsible for taking the GoPro camera Duda had been holding.
The family said the incident was not merely a terrible accident, but an unacceptable failure that must be fully investigated.
'The crime that occurred with our Duda last Saturday, June 13, 2026, during the practice of rope jump on Ponte do Esqueleto, in Limeira, being launched without being properly connected to security equipment is unacceptable and is under investigation by the Civil Police,' the statement said.
'This fact causes us deep anguish and indignation.'
They said they had sought legal advice as they began their fight for accountability.
'It is essential that all responsibilities are rigorously calculated and that all those involved are duly held accountable for their actions and omissions,' the family said.
They said they trusted the Civil Police and Brazil's justice system to establish exactly how Duda came to be thrown from the bridge without the equipment that could have saved her life.
'We hope, above all, that the elucidation of this case will serve as a warning so that situations like this do not be repeated, thus protecting the lives of other young people,' they said.
Duda was buried the day after her death in a city-owned grave in Jandira, the São Paulo suburb where she lived.
Her resting place is one of the municipal plots used on a rotating basis, meaning her family will have four years before they must exhume her remains and find another burial site.
Four large bouquets have been placed on the freshly turned red earth.
One message reads: 'The memory of your smile will remain in our memory.'
Another says: 'Your family misses you.'
Freitas's mother shared this image to social media as she issued a heartbreaking tribute
The mother of Brazilian woman Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, (pictured) who was thrown to her death from a bridge by bungee-jump instructors who forgot to attach the rope, paid a heartbreaking tribute to her 'princess' after the tragedy
Freitas's mother Valdenia Rodrigues (together) anguished over the fatal mistake that the bungee instructors made by not attaching the bungee cord, writing: 'That damn rope took you away from me forever'
Her aunt, Valdineia, who brought up Duda, has also paid tribute to her in a series of anguished Instagram posts.
'My beloved daughter, today alone I wanted to hug you more than a thousand times,' she wrote in one.
In another, she wrote: 'That damn rope took you away from me forever.'
The abandoned bridge is now set to be demolished after years of complaints about unregulated rope-jump and bungee-style operators using the structure.
Work to bring down the bridge began on Wednesday, less than a week after Duda's death.
