CRUISE SHIP - MISSING PERSONS, News, etc...

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no cruise ship for me thank you very much!

[Nut44x4]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526631,00.html

Coast Guard Searches for Woman Reported Overboard on Cruise
Tuesday , June 16, 2009


MOBILE, Ala.  —

The Coast Guard sent out ships and aircraft to search the Gulf of Mexico for a woman who reportedly went overboard from a cruise ship early Tuesday.

A 50-year-old woman was reported overboard by the Carnival Holiday at 12:04 a.m. CDT Tuesday, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The ship was about 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, Fla., at the time.

Carnival Corp. said a passenger reported hearing a splash in the water about 11 p.m. CDT, prompting a cabin-by-cabin search aboard the Holiday. Crew members lowered lifeboats to look for the woman but found nothing.

The Coast Guard search included two cutters, two airplanes and a helicopter.

The Holiday, with a capacity of 1,452 passengers, is due back in Mobile on Saturday after a five-day trip to the Yucatan Peninsula.

The woman's disappearance marked the second time in less than a month that a passenger went overboard from a Carnival ship based in the Gulf.

A Louisiana teenager on a high school graduation cruise aboard the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans went over the rails on May 24 about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla. Authorities suspended a search after two days without locating his body.

Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 
June 21, 2009 Sunday 
 
Former Marrero resident missing;
Cruise disappearance suspicious, spouse says
 
A cruise ship returned to Mobile, Ala., one passenger short on Saturday after a woman who formerly lived in Marrero disappeared in an incident her husband calls suspicious.

Michelle Vilborg, of Bay Minette, Ala., was on a five-day cruise to the Yucatan peninsula aboard the Carnival Holiday to celebrate her 50th birthday and upcoming 30th wedding anniversary with her husband.

She was found to be missing Monday evening during a cabin-by-cabin search begun after a crew member reported hearing a splash 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, Fla., according to a statement by Carnival Cruise Lines. The Coast Guard launched a search at about 11 p.m., sending out two ships, a jet, a helicopter and a rescue plane. After looking for Vilborg for 70 hours and covering more than 3,600 square miles, the searchers suspended their hunt Wednesday.

The Vilborgs had been on the cruise ship for about eight hours before Michelle Vilborg disappeared, according to her husband, Sven.

The couple had a buffet dinner, at which Michelle had a martini, before they headed back to their cabin to get ready for bed, Sven Vilborg said. The last time he saw his wife, he said, she was in the bathroom removing her makeup.

He said he then dozed off and about 45 minutes later was awakened by someone banging on his door. Later, he was told his wife was missing and that someone had seen her four decks above their cabin. He said he suspects foul play.

"She didn't even know her way around the ship," Vilborg said. "I don't know how it happened in such a short amount of time." When he requested copies of surveillance tapes, he was told the ship did not have any, he said. Calls he made to the investigating FBI agent, who said interviews would be conducted with passengers Saturday, were not returned.

"I just have a feeling that something is not on the up and up," Vilborg said. "I'm not believing half the things they're telling me. It wasn't like she was strolling around, because she was going to bed."

A spokeswoman for Carnival said she could not comment, and a spokesperson for the Mobile office of the FBI could not be reached Saturday.

Vilborg grew up in Chalmette and met her husband at a pool party in Algiers. She could not pronounce his name, he said, so she called him Swede because he's from Sweden. The couple moved to Lee Street in Marrero in 1981. Vilborg, then 21, quickly became a friend of Toni Cooper, a woman about her age two houses away. Vilborg, who had three children, and Cooper, who had six, would sunbathe in their yards, play cards or play with the children in the kiddie pool.

"We had a blast," said Cooper. The two lost touch after the Vilborgs moved to Alabama 12 years ago. They reconnected after one of the Vilborgs' daughters died at age 20 in a car accident in September 2002 and one of Cooper's sons, 18, committed suicide two months later.

Cooper and Vilborg began talking again, writing letters and sending pictures. Vilborg started a nonprofit organization to help people overcome grief.

"She was a very, very wonderful woman," Cooper said. "She was loving and kind."

Whatever happened aboard the ship, Cooper and Sven Vilborg agreed that Michelle Vilborg did not commit suicide.

"It's beyond me," said Vilborg, adding the couple were looking forward to the birth of more grandchildren. "She had everything to live for. No matter what faults she had in her life, she was just full of life."
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:993174047&start=9

[Nut44x4]

Body found in search for ship passenger
NO POSITIVE I.D.: Woman washes up on a Southeastern island along route of vessel that reported missing traveler.
Last Modified: August 3rd, 2009 10:43 PM

The body of a woman was discovered during a search for a passenger presumed to have gone overboard from a Holland America cruise ship sometime after midnight Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The passenger, Washington resident Amber Malkuch, 45, disappeared from the Zaandam on its route between Douglas Island and Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska State Troopers said. A search of the vessel turned up no sign of her.

The Coast Guard, joined by civilian vessels and aircraft, launched a massive search of the 80-mile stretch of glacial-fed water with a temperature of about 57 degrees between Juneau and the park.

About 4:30 p.m. Monday, a helicopter found a body washed up on the west side of Douglas Island, the Coast Guard said. The tide had apparently carried the body to shore and left it high on the beach as it receded.

The body was taken to Juneau to be positively identified, troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said.

"The search is continuing," Coast Guard Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios said. "We do not know for sure if that's the body; however it is a female and she was found within the search area."

The last known sighting of Malkuch was when she ordered room service about 12:30 a.m., as the ship was near Douglas Island. She was reported missing by her roommate and travelling companion about 9 a.m., after the ship was already in the park, Ipsen said.

How she might have fallen overboard was not known and was to become the subject of an investigation. Also unclear was why the roommate did not report the woman missing until about 9 a.m.

"It's all still a really big mystery right now," Rios said. "We really don't know what happened. The Alaska State Troopers and the Coast Guard are conducting an investigation."

The Zaandam, which can carry 1,432 passengers, sailed from Seattle on Friday bound for Alaska on a seven-day cruise. It departed Juneau headed for Glacier Bay on Sunday and was continuing its scheduled voyage after Malkuch's disappearance, according to Holland America.

"At this point, we haven't even really had very good contact with the boat," Ipsen said. "Troopers are going to respond to Sitka, that's where the ship is docking (today), to do their investigation, talk to the travelling companion to find out what happened."

After getting the report the woman was missing, the crew searched the 780-foot vessel but turned up no sign of her, Holland America said in a statement. The company offered no further details on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.

According to the Coast Guard, there were no obvious signs of foul play, nor did it appear any of the vessel's survival gear was missing.

Investigators would likely be examining security footage as part of their effort to figure out how the woman fell overboard, Rios said. The area between the mountain ranges can get fairly windy, although Rios said he wasn't aware of severe conditions in the area overnight.

After getting the report of a missing person about 10 a.m., the Coast Guard launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Sitka, diverted patrol boats Long Island and Liberty to the scene and dispatched two rescue boats from Juneau.

The Civil Air Patrol helped with two airplanes and the park service launched a number of boats to scan the shoreline in the area of Stephens Passage, Lynn Canal and Icy Strait, according to the Coast Guard.

A TEMSCO Helicopters aircraft, which Holland America had contracted to aid in the search, found the body late in the afternoon and delivered it to the Coast Guard, Rios said. An official with the Wrangell-based aviation company declined to comment Monday evening.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/rural/southeast/story/886393.html

[Nut44x4]

Cruise Passenger Goes Overboard in Apparent Suicide
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
The body of a woman found in frigid Alaska waters is likely that of a 45-year-old cruise ship passenger who vanished during the trip and is believed to have fallen overboard in an apparent suicide.

Authorities wouldn't immediately identify the woman discovered dead, but it is thought to be passenger Amber Malkuch of Washington state — who was last seen ordering room service just after midnight aboard Holland America's ship the Zaandam.

A spokeswoman for Holland America Line says the incident appears to be a suicide.

Malkuch was reported missing by a friend sharing her cabin on Monday morning when the ship was in Glacier Bay National Park. It embarked on the seven-day cruise from Seattle on Friday.

There was no apparent sign of foul play, authorities said. They launched a massive search for Malkuch after she disappeared.

Malkuch was last seen hours before her cabinmate reported the disappearance about 9 a.m., when she ordered room service overnight while the ship was near Douglas Island, according to a statement issued by Holland America.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr said it was unclear why her friend didn't alert authorities earlier, and a spokeswoman for the cruise line didn't return calls seeking further comment.

Many of the circumstances surrounding the woman's disappearance are still a mystery, Warr said.

The crew of a commercial helicopter operated by Ketchikan-based TEMSCO Helicopters that was helping in the search found the body at about 4:30 p.m. on the west side of Douglas Island — about 12 miles northwest of where the passenger was last seen, according to Warr.

Warr said there was no indication that any of the Zaandam's survival gear was missing.

Alaska State Troopers were joining the investigation, and footage from the ship's security cameras will likely be reviewed, Warr said.

The search focused on a vast region surrounding Douglas Island and the national park, which are 80 miles apart, Warr said. The glacier-fed waters in the area are 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

"This is a huge, huge area," Warr said.

Also taking part in Monday's search were a Coast Guard helicopter, two cutters, two rescue boats, two Glacier Bay vessels and two civil air patrol pilots.

An extensive search also was conducted on the 780-foot Zaandam. The ship has a capacity for about 1,430 passengers and 600 crew members.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536441,00.html?mrp

[Nut44x4]

Last updated September 23, 2009 5:36 p.m. PT

Search under way for missing cruise ship passenger
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A search has been launched in the waters of Southeast Alaska and Canada for a 67-year-old woman reported missing from a cruise ship.

The passenger, who hasn't been identified, was noticed missing when she didn't leave the Sapphire Princess at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday morning.

The Princess Cruise liner departed Ketchikan on Monday on an Inside Passage cruise. She was not located during a search of the ship, and her personal belongings were in her state room.

The U.S. Coast Guard has sent a helicopter and boats to search from Ketchikan 86 miles south to include Dixon Entrance, Tongass Narrows and the northern end of Hecate Strait.

Canadian officials are searching from Vancouver 517 miles north to Hecate Strait.

In August, the body of a passenger aboard the Zaandam, Amber Malkuch, 45, was found off Douglas Island in Southeast Alaska. The Arlington, Wash., resident had been reported missing earlier in the day.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters on Wednesday said the cause of death was drowning. However, she said the agency may never come to a determination if the death was accidental or a suicide, as the cruise ship company said at the time.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_ak_missing_passenger.html?source=mypi

[2NJSons_Mom]

Italian chef missing at sea on Caribbean cruise         

 43 mins ago
ROME – Italy's foreign ministry says a chef from the country is missing from a U.S.-flagged cruise ship and the FBI is investigating.

Angelo Faliva was last seen in the kitchen of the Princess Cruises "Coral Princess" at about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday while he was working his dinner shift.

Faliva's sister, Chiara Faliva, said Sunday the family was alerted Thursday that he had been reported missing and that a life preserver was also missing, with its nighttime illumination flares torn off and left aboard the ship.

The "Coral Princess" left Miami on Nov. 23, and was sailing between Aruba and Cartagena, Colombia when Faliva went missing. The ship is due to dock in Los Angeles on Dec. 7. Colombian maritime authorities are also investigating.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_missing_chef_1
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[cookie]

I had always sworn off taking a cruise  but found that I have been talked into going on one in a few months...I am excited but nervous at the same time...I will be staying away from the balconies etc....

[AZSunny]

I had always sworn off taking a cruise  but found that I have been talked into going on one in a few months...I am excited but nervous at the same time...I will be staying away from the balconies etc....

Cookie, You will have a wonderful time, and it is virtually impossible to fall off a cruise ship, unless you are trying to do so.  Just be excited, there is nothing to be nervous about..promise. (PS--I always book a balcony!  I love that ocean air and sleeping to the sound of the sea!)

[AZSunny]

Italian chef missing at sea on Caribbean cruise         

 43 mins ago
ROME – Italy's foreign ministry says a chef from the country is missing from a U.S.-flagged cruise ship and the FBI is investigating.

Angelo Faliva was last seen in the kitchen of the Princess Cruises "Coral Princess" at about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday while he was working his dinner shift.

Faliva's sister, Chiara Faliva, said Sunday the family was alerted Thursday that he had been reported missing and that a life preserver was also missing, with its nighttime illumination flares torn off and left aboard the ship.

The "Coral Princess" left Miami on Nov. 23, and was sailing between Aruba and Cartagena, Colombia when Faliva went missing. The ship is due to dock in Los Angeles on Dec. 7. Colombian maritime authorities are also investigating.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_missing_chef_1

[/quote]
Now they are saying that he was seen at 8:30 on Thanksgiving morning.  He had a conversation with another crew member. 

[cookie]

I had always sworn off taking a cruise  but found that I have been talked into going on one in a few months...I am excited but nervous at the same time...I will be staying away from the balconies etc....

Cookie, You will have a wonderful time, and it is virtually impossible to fall off a cruise ship, unless you are trying to do so.  Just be excited, there is nothing to be nervous about..promise. (PS--I always book a balcony!  I love that ocean air and sleeping to the sound of the sea!)

thank you! I am looking really forward to it...we do have a balcony room...I haven't spoken to anyone who did not love their cruise...I am excited...

[NM]

Hey Monkies,
I found an informative web site for reports of crimes, etc on cruise ships
http://www.cruisebruise.com/Overboard/Michelle_Vilborg.html

[cookie]

Hey Monkies,
I found an informative web site for reports of crimes, etc on cruise ships
http://www.cruisebruise.com/Overboard/Michelle_Vilborg.html

Yikes!

[2NJSons_Mom]

Cruise line: FBI in LA probes missing cruise chef

Last Update: 12/07 11:31 am 



LOS ANGELES (AP) — A cruise line says the FBI is investigating the disappearance of an Italian chef who may have gone overboard from an American cruise ship.

The probe was initiated Monday morning after the Princess Cruises' Coral Princess docked at the Port of Los Angeles.

Cruise spokeswoman Julie Benson says Angelo Faliva was last seen on a deck Nov. 26 as the ship sailed from Aruba to Colombia. Benson says a search of the ship and a review of security cameras came up empty. Princess Cruises says a life preserver was also missing but is unsure if it relates to Faliva.

The 31-year-old's family said they were told he unexpectedly left the galley while working the dinner shift and never returned. The ship left South Florida on Nov. 23.

An FBI spokeswoman could not confirm details of the investigation.
 
http://www.cbs47.tv/news/state/story/Cruise-line-FBI-in-LA-probes-missing-cruise-chef/D6j2TAY14kCPLEMjTX26tg.cspx?rss=154

[texasmom]

http://www.sphere.com/world/article/cruise-ship-passenger-neha-chhikara-jumped-overboard/19300072?icid=main

World

Cruise Ship Passenger Jumps Overboard in Bahamas

Updated: 1 hour 43 minutes ago

AP Staff
 

AP MIAMI (Jan. 1) -- The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger who government officials say jumped overboard in the Bahamas.

The Coast Guard says crew members aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas reported Neha Chhikara missing Thursday afternoon as the ship was headed from Nassau to CocoCay.

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says the guest was reported missing by her husband. Security camera footage showed the 23-year-old woman going overboard from the 11th deck early that morning.

Martinez said Friday that Bahamian government officials reviewed the footage and determined that the woman jumped overboard.

The ship left Port Canaveral, Fla., on Monday for a five-day cruise through the Bahamas. It's due to return Saturday.

[texasmom]

http://www.facebook.com/people/Neha-Chhikara/100000159864414

Not sure if this is her or not.  Looks about the right age IMO.

[texasmom]

Earlier article:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091231/BREAKINGNEWS/91231029

Passenger goes overboard from Port Canaveral ship

BY KAUSTUV BASU • FLORIDA TODAY • DECEMBER 31, 2009

The Coast Guard is searching for a missing cruise ship passenger tonight who reportedly jumped overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas, a ship home-ported in Port Canaveral, officials said.

The 23-year-old woman, who is not being identified, went overboard from the 11th deck of the ship near Nassau, Bahamas, about 4 a.m. today, the coast guard said.

The Monarch of the Seas, which can accommodate 2,744 guests, left Port Canaveral on Tuesday for the Bahamas and was scheduled to be back Saturday.

“The guest was last seen at 3:45 a.m. At that time, the ship was sailing from Nassau to CocoCay, Bahamas. As soon as the guest was reported missing, various public announcements were made onboard and a complete search of the ship, as well of CocoCay, was initiated,” according to a statement released by Royal Caribbean.

“Shipboard closed-circuit camera footage captured the guest going overboard on deck 11, portside at approximately 4:11 a.m. Government officials have reviewed the footage and determined that the guest jumped overboard.”

The passenger was reported missing by her husband at 12:15 p.m., according to Cynthia Martinez, spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean.

“We have teams searching by sea and air,” said coast guard petty officer Nick Ameen. “We will search through the night and tomorrow. We are constantly reassessing our search.”

A helicopter, a jet and a cutter were being used in the search, which began about 2 p.m. today.

Contact Basu at 242-3724 or kbasu@floridatoday.com.

[texasmom]

   The plot thickens....?

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3614

December 31, 2009

Wife of Crewmember Missing from Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

(10:33 p.m. EST) -- A woman onboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas was reported missing at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday. Shipboard surveillance video later showed the passenger jumping overboard at 4:11 a.m. The Coast Guard is leading a search, but the woman has not yet been found.

The missing passenger, identified as 23-year-old Neha Chhikara in a Coast Guard report, was not only a guest onboard but the wife of a crewmember, according to Royal Caribbean's statement. She was last seen at 3:45 a.m. when the ship was sailing from Nassau to CocoCay. Once she was reported missing the following afternoon, both the ship and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island, were thoroughly searched. Ship authorities notified the Bahamian government and the U.S. Coast Guard, which launched a search using a Falcon jet, Jayhawk helicopter and the Coast Guard Cutter Cormorant.

Video footage later revealed that the woman had jumped from Deck 11, port side. Royal Caribbean's Guest Care Team is providing support to her husband.

Monarch of the Seas was on a five-night Bahamas cruise, sailing from Port Canaveral. The ship is scheduled to return on January 2.

--by Erica Silverstein, Senior Editor

[Edward]

The Gurgaon police registered an FIR for dowry harassment in the Neha Chhikara’s alleged suicide case on Sunday at the Sector 17/18 police station.



Neha’s family members, who had earlier filed a complaint of Neha being harassed for dowry by her in-laws, said the FIR was registered after much “persuasion”.



The family has accused Neha’s husband Ankit Dalal, father-in-law Dr S S Dalal (also the chief medical officer at the Gurgaon Civil Hospital), mother-in-law Nirmal Dalal and her sister-in-law for harassing Neha for dowry, soon after marriage.



Neha has been missing since December 31 from the Royal Caribbean Cruise, where she had recently taken up a job. Ankit works as a manager on the same ship and has been employed there for almost seven years now. The two were married in August 2008. Neha’s in-laws used to beat her and demanded money since then, alleged Neha’s father Suresh Chhikara.



“We have filed the FIR under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 406 (criminal misappropriation of property entrusted to someone) and 498 (dowry harassment) of the IPC,” Gurgaon police commissioner S S Deswal said.



“We have not arrested anyone as yet and are still investigating the case. As far as death is concerned, it needs to be certified by the police there (Bahamas, where Neha went missing).”



When quizzed on the possibility that the accused may try to “escape”, Deswal said: “S S Dalal holds a responsible position in a government (department); he can not ‘run away’.”

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Neha-Chhikara-case--Parents-file-FIR-for-dowry-harassment/562926

The Gurgaon police chief also said the US police have sealed Neha’s room and are collecting necessary evidence for the case.

Do not worry Our F.B.I. is on it... It will NEVER be solved now.


But yes The Plot is so think I can't walk through it now..

[Edward]

former air hostess Neha Chhikara

Her facebook page..

Her image ?



What a happy couple.. Did he throw her off de boat ??  12:P.M. in the middle of the day ??

[cookie]

maybe she did commit suicide if her inlaws were making her life so miserable...they should be ashamed of themselves and her husband as well for not protecting her more against them and their beatings..imo....