BURLINGTON — The estate of a Brooklyn woman, who perished with her dog in the Saxtons River two years ago, is suing a Windham County homeowner and Airbnb Inc. on claims they failed to disclose the hidden dangers for a nearby swimming hole and associated waterfalls that have claimed the lives of nearly two dozen people, court records show..
Elijah Seyfried filed the lawsuit as administrator of the estate for Erika Greber Seyfried, 36, who drowned in North Westminster on Aug. 29, 2021, records in U.S. District Court in Burlington indicate.
Local businessman Robert Ross of North Westminster, who rented the couple his vacation property on the banks of the Saxtons River for 8 days, and Airbnb Inc., which is based in San Francisco, are both named as defendants, the lawsuit said. The cost was $1,319 with Airbnb getting a commission from the account, the lawsuit said.
Ross and Airbnb advertised the suite at his farmhouse at 33 Gage Street as having access to swimming at the site, the lawsuit said. The home is just upriver from Twin Falls, the lawsuit noted.
The defendants never mentioned that at least 22 people have died in the churning swimming holes of Twin Falls since the 1940s, according to Burlington lawyer Barbara Blackman of Lynn, Lynn, Blackman & Manitsky, which represents the estate.
Twin Falls, which is a 3-minute walk from the Airbnb rental, is one of New England’s top 5 most dangerous waterfalls, Blackman said in her 14-page lawsuit.
“Shockingly, after Erika’s death, defendant Airbnb chose to elevate defendant Bob Ross to ‘Superhost’ status, the lawsuit said. Defendant Airbnb’s website indicates that “a Superhost is someone who goes above and beyond in their hosting duties and is a shining example of how a Host should be,” the lawsuit said.
Blackman’s lawsuit includes negligence counts against each defendant and blames both for the loss of consortium due to the death. The Airbnb also is facing a separate claim of violating the Vermont Consumer Protection Act.
The victim was a vice president at Penguin Random Housing publishers, where she had worked for 13 years, the lawsuit said. Her death included coverage in People Magazine, N.Y. Post and Fox News. Eli Seyfried is a New York City deputy sheriff, the lawsuit said.
Ross, reached by phone on Sunday afternoon, said he was unaware of the civil lawsuit, which was filed Thursday. He will have about a month to file a written response once the lawsuit is served on him.
“She jumped into a river after her dog,” Ross said about Erika Seyfried. He indicated he planned to reach out to his attorney in Brattleboro.
The Brooklyn couple began planning a 2021 Vermont vacation. Erika Seyfried used the defendant’s Airbnb platform to search for a place to stay and noted they made numerous guarantees about guest safety, the lawsuit said. It said it was a “Private 1st Floor Apartment/Secluded Paradise” hosted by Ross at his farmhouse at 33 Gage Street on the banks of the Saxtons River.
Ross listed the site as a “retreat for those who love a peaceful riverfront setting with songbirds in the morning, wildflower fields and swimming below our waterfall just 500 feet from your door,” the lawsuit said. It goes on to urge visitors that the “waterfall on the Saxtons River is only 500 feet from your suite and offers a great place to have your morning coffee on the riverbank deck or swim in the deep water pool below the falls.”
The lawsuit noted both defendants knew or should have known the section of the river in front of the home was dangerous and presented an unreasonable risk of harm to visitors.
The Seyfrieds made their reservation with Ross on July 13, 2021 and they exchanged several more messages before arriving in Vermont. Ross confirmed the reservation and that they were free to bring their dog. He noted, in part, “There are lots of fields to run around in and a great pool below the falls to swim in.” Ross sent a couple more emails welcoming the family.
The Seyfrieds arrived with their 7-month old Golden Retriever Jules, on the night of Saturday Aug. 28, 2021 and when they woke up in the morning, they looked out the window to see the falls and swimming hole that had been advertised, the lawsuit said. There were benches overlooking the area and stone steps led down to the water, it said. The water was tranquil, “belying the powerful currents swirling in the hidden caves underneath,” Blackman wrote.
The lawsuit maintains the following happened:
The couple went into town for breakfast at a local cafe, bought groceries for their visit and coffee, before heading back to the rental. About 11 a.m. Eli opted to take a nap, while Erika said she planned to take the dog for a walk and hang out by the river.
By late afternoon when Eli woke up, he found some text messages — two photographs and a video — of the dog playing in the shallow portion of the river not far from the waterfall. Eli put on his swim trunks and headed to the river. He spotted some of his wife’s belongings on the bench, including her book, coffee cup, towel and a dog toy. He also saw her sandals on a rock at the edge of the river, but no sign of her or the dog.
Eli initially texted and later called Erika, but got no response with the calls that went directly to voicemail. He began to search for her and eventually found Bob Ross, who said it was not a good sign.
Ross told Eli about the danger lurking beneath the river’s surface and that his wife was likely trapped under the water, the lawsuit said. Eli called the state police about 8 p.m. and some searching was conducted, but was eventually called off at darkness.
The next morning state police found the body trapped in the underwater cavern — exactly where Ross believed she would be located, the lawsuit said. Ross told Vermont State Police that he once watched his dog get sucked under the rock ledge and never resurfaced.
The retrieval of the body was “technically complicated and posed a significant risk of danger to the first responders,” the lawsuit noted. Her body was recovered by aquatic search teams only with the aid of a remotely operated underwater robot, the lawsuit said.
Her fingernails were bent and broken and she had bruises to her scalp, right hip, left shin and right upper arm, it said.
The victim “suffered extreme physical and psychological pain in the minutes prior to her death. Survivors have described the experience of drowning as incredibly painful; a simultaneous sensation of tearing and burning in the chest,” the lawsuit said.
The autopsy confirmed the death was an accident by drowning, state police said. They were assisted by Rescue Inc. and the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department.
Blackman said the Ross rental listing is still active on the defendant’s Airbnb’s platform. She said in August 2022, one year after the death, another guest left a “chilling review” about how much fun his 12-year-old granddaughter had in “the private swimming hole below the waterfall in the backyard.”
The lawsuit said there have been other safety issues at the house, including a 2012 shooting involving the defendant’s son, Emery Ross, then 26, who was listed as co-host.
Blackman said multiple news stories were found on the internet about the shooting, the lawsuit said. Emery Ross, the son of the defendant Bob Ross, pointed a loaded gun at his mother and made threats during the course of a dispute over a laptop computer, the lawsuit said.
Bob Ross and his son got into a struggle over the rifle and eventually it discharged sending the bullet through “several walls in several rooms before plunging in a bedroom ceiling,” the lawsuit said.
Bob Ross got into another legal dispute with the town of Westminster in 2012 when he stood in front of construction equipment to try to halt the cleanup from Tropical Storm Irene, the lawsuit said. The town filed for an injunction and during an April 5, 2012 hearing, Ross testified that the powerful whirlpool action of the water in front of his property was so powerful that a so-called “tea house’ was once carried 100 feet up stream, the lawsuit said.
The defendants knew or should have known about the submerged caves hidden underneath large protruding rocks on the rental property, the lawsuit said. It added that the underwater caves were carved into the rock by the same powerful recirculation of water Ross had described during his 2012 testimony.
When Seyfried drowned Penguin Random House noted her passing.
“Her reader-centric approach to consumers, her social media prowess, and her tireless nurturing of our authors earned her reverence throughout our company and our industry,” a company spokesman said. “With her forward-looking, inclusive approach to every team and project she led, Erika was the embodiment of what we all hope for in a colleague, and friend.”
A GoFundMe account on behalf of the victim raised more than $17,750 that was earmarked for a bench and tree to be planted at Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
