The three instructors charged in connection with the shocking 131-foot death of a 21-year-old woman are all giving investigators the same answer: they simply cannot explain how it happened. But as they deny responsibility for the fatal mistake, authorities are also investigating another troubling myster, the disappearance of the camera the victim was reportedly wearing when she fell.

Brazilian police continue to investigate the death of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, who was killed during a rope-jumping event at the so-called “Skeleton Bridge” on the border of Limeira and Cordeirópolis in São Paulo state.

The three instructors arrested after the tragedy — Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27 — have been charged with homicide and remain behind bars after a judge converted their arrests into preventive detention.

According to testimony obtained by investigators, none of the men have provided a clear explanation for how Maria Eduarda was launched from the bridge without the main safety rope attached to her body.

Egoroff and Cintra acknowledged that they were responsible for installing and checking the safety equipment before participants jumped. However, when questioned about who handled specific tasks that day, both failed to explain exactly how the fatal oversight occurred.

In his statement to police, Cintra admitted, “It’s difficult to understand how we didn’t see the rope. I simply can’t understand it.”

Investigators say the safety rope was left on the platform while Maria Eduarda was propelled off the bridge in the “airplane” style of rope jumping, a technique in which participants are launched by instructors rather than jumping themselves.

Meanwhile, investigators are also examining allegations that key evidence may have disappeared immediately after the accident.

Witnesses told police that Maria Eduarda was wearing a GoPro-style body camera during the activity. However, the device allegedly vanished after the fall.

One witness claimed to have seen a member of the operation remove the camera from the victim’s body following the impact. Authorities are now trying to determine what happened to the device and whether it may have captured footage of the moments leading up to the deadly fall.

During his police interview, Gonçalves said the team could not explain the camera’s whereabouts.

The investigation has also raised questions about the operation itself. Brazil’s Secretariat of Union Heritage reportedly confirmed that the “Skeleton Bridge” did not have authorization for extreme sports activities. Local authorities are now evaluating whether the structure should be permanently closed or even demolished.

According to investigators, the group operated traveling rope-jumping events, charging participants for both jumps and optional video recordings. Maria Eduarda had signed up for one of the approximately 131-foot jumps offered at the site.

Defense attorney Rafael Gomes dos Santos has argued that the incident was a tragic accident rather than an intentional crime. He disputes the homicide charges and insists the instructors neither intended to cause Maria Eduarda’s death nor knowingly accepted the risk.

Police, however, continue to await forensic reports as they work to determine whether negligence, safety failures, or other actions contributed to the fatal fall.

As the investigation continues, one question remains unanswered: how a young woman was launched from a bridge without a safety rope and what happened to the camera that may have recorded everything.