An argument about grandchildren ended with a vacationer from the United Kingdom getting arrested and charged with attempted murder.

“It’s great that Polk County draws visitors from all across the world, but we expect vacationers to behave while they visit with us, just as we expect our lifelong residents to do the same. Because Mr. Gibbon couldn’t control his anger, he may find himself spending a lot more time in Florida than he had anticipated.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff 

Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to the Solterra Resort on Pine Tree Trail in Davenport on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at around 5:19 pm regarding a disturbance in a backyard swimming pool. 

According to the victim and witnesses, 62-year old Mark Raymond Gibbon of Beaconsfield, England, tried to drown his 33-year old daughter-in-law during the argument.

The victim told detectives that she and Gibbon began arguing about his grandchildren while they were in the vacation rental home swimming pool. 

Gibbon is accused of pushing and holding the victim's head under water multiple times, preventing her from breathing. 

The victim's 9-year old daughter jumped into the pool in an attempt to stop Gibbon from drowning her mother.

The victim stated that Gibbon only stopped after a pair of sisters from Ohio who were vacationing next door said that they called the Sheriff's Office.

Mark Gibbon was arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail and charged with: Attempted 2nd-Degree Murder (F2), and Battery (M1, 2-counts).