As family members and friends prepare to mourn and celebrate the life of a Vero Beach teenager who fell to her death at an unfinished condominium building earlier this month, there are questions about why the long-abandoned, graffiti-covered concrete skeleton was never condemned or demolished.

Sheriff's officials – who described the 29-foot fall from the roof as an accident – identified the 16-year-old girl as Roylynn Scott, a student at Vero Beach High School.

On the day she died, the building where she fell and two others, which were part of a failed riverside condominium project called The River Preserve, had been abandoned for nearly two decades and were a known public safety hazard where police had made numerous arrests for trespassing. The project began in 2005 and abandoned in 2007, during the housing recession, when property values plummeted and homebuyers were scarce.

A moment of silence was held for Roylynn before the Vero Beach High School football game last Friday, August 14 at Billy Livings Field at the Citrus Bowl, the school's football stadium. School District of Indian River County officials coordinated with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office to ensure grief counselors and therapy dogs were available for students and staff at the 3,000-student campus.

Roylynn's obituary, posted by Lowther funeral home, said she "was deeply loved and will be forever remembered by her family and all those whose lives she touched." Roylynn's grandmother, Carole Melasi, told Vero Beach 32963 the family is doing as well as it can under the circumstances.

Roylynn was among a group of high school kids who went into the unfinished condo structure east of U.S. 1 and north of route 510 around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8.

The derelict River Preserve development has two access points off of U.S. 1. The south entrance is a little trail cutting through the woods that is only blocked off by a chain and a no trespassing sign. The north entrance, which would have been the main entrance to the condos, is a paved road blocked off by a locked bar gate and another no trespassing sign. The site can also be easily entered from the riverside by anyone passing by in a boat.

It isn't known which way the teenagers entered, or if they had been there before, but the group made it to the rooftop of one of the four-story buildings. There, tragically, Roylynn fell through a hole in the roof and another hole on the third floor, plummeting to the second story concrete floor 29 feet below, according to sheriff's officials.

"The investigation determined the group had been trespassing on the property and was on the roof when the teen fell through a hole," said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office.

A 911 call released by the sheriff's office captured the cries and horror at the scene.

"A girl fell from about three stories," an unidentified youth told dispatchers in the 16-minute audio call. The caller said Roylynn was not awake, had a pulse and was bleeding from the mouth and head.

"She has a pulse but she's not responding," the juvenile told dispatchers. "We're in the middle [building]."

Roylynn was not breathing. The dispatcher instructed the youth to perform CPR on her as first responders raced to the derelict property.

It is not known why the group went to the site, but they told the dispatcher they had not been drinking or using drugs.

Indian River County deputies and fire rescue officials found Roylynn and her companions on the second floor of the middle condo building, which is flanked on both sides by similar concrete hulks. Roylynn was flown to Health First's Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where doctors pronounced her dead, Jaworski said.

"The Indian River County Sheriff's Office extends its deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time," sheriff's officials said in a statement. "We also want to remind the public, especially parents and teens, of the serious dangers posed by climbing on abandoned structures, and the legal consequences of trespassing on privately owned property."

The River Preserve has been used for years as a hangout and party site for teens, Jaworski said.

An urban explorer who has been to the site provided this description of what the abandoned development is like: "The condos are mostly made up of three buildings. The northernmost building is the most complete. It is the only building with metal studs that look like they were meant to be walls at some point, also some loose wiring hanging throughout the building.

"The middle condo is a little less complete, and the third even less. All three have stairway access to the roof. Graffiti can be found on just about every wall in every building. The art ranges from typical graffiti tags to some actual decent artwork.

"In the stairways there were hundreds of used glow-sticks scattered, and other signs of parties and gatherings. There were also used needles discarded on various floors. The elevator shafts in all three buildings are open, with nothing to prevent anyone from falling to their doom.

"The same goes for another hole, maybe meant to be an air duct shaft, that is about 3 foot by 3 foot square. This is something easily missed and goes from the roof to the ground level. It is possible this is where the girl fell to her death."

The individual quoted provided this description on the condition of remaining anonymous, since they were trespassing when they explored the site.

Another source reports that there are shards of broken glass, sharp pipes, empty spray paint cans, and open elevator and air duct shafts inside the buildings

"We've had a couple of trespassing calls out there over the last few years," Jaworski said, but that seems to be an understatement. Reports based on public records say that more than 30 adults and juveniles have been cited for trespassing in the past 10 years, with some people arrested.

Sheriff's officials confirmed that Indian River Preserve LLC owns The River Preserve. Sunbiz.org shows Mark Hoffman, of Melbourne, as the registered agent for owner.

Hoffman could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Besides the Sheriff's Department, members of the Indian River County Planning and Zoning Commission appear to have been aware the condition of the property.

At the commission's July 24, 2025 meeting, where an updated version of the development received site plan approval, Commissioner Jordan Stewart said earnestly that it would be a public benefit to tear the old buildings down as soon as possible.

Another commissioner asked, "Are they abandoned?"

"Yes, they are in pretty rough shape," was the reply.

John Blum, an engineer with Carter Associates in Vero Beach, who represented the owner at the meeting, said the buildings would be torn down as soon as possible.

"If they could tear them down right now, they would," he said of the owner.

But they weren't torn down – or condemned by the county. One year and two weeks after the meeting, Roylynn died there.

Which raises the question again of why the buildings have been allowed to sit, easily accessible to children, for nearly 20 years – especially when authorities knew they were being used as dangerous party sites.

The Building Division section of Indian River County's website says the division "is responsible for enforcing the portions of the Indian River County Code relating to the condemnation of substandard and unsafe buildings by reason of dilapidation, obsolescence, abandonment, vandalism, inadequate and unsafe egress, and damage due to fire or accidents."

But the division appears to have ignored that responsibility in this case.

"No family is ever prepared for this kind of pain, and Roylynn's passing has left loved ones grieving while trying to make arrangements to honor and remember her," says a GoFundMe page created by Roylynn's grandmother to help pay expenses and support a charity in Roylynn's memory. "During this incredibly difficult time, Carole [Melasi] is asking for support as the family comes together to lay Roylynn to rest with love and dignity."

The page, which has an $8,000 goal, has raised about $6,640 as of Monday afternoon. 

Roylynn was born on February 23, 2010, in Vero Beach. Her funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 at Grace Lutheran Church, 1150 41st Avenue in South Vero. A celebration of life will be held the same day at 6:30 p.m. at Lake Vinca Park, 444 Periwinkle Drive in Sebastian.