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

[Red]

Jennifer Hagel Smith, Widow of Missing George Smith Says He Mixed Alcohol & Prescription Drugs the Night He Went Missing

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2008/07/19/jennifer-hagel-smith-widow-of-missing-george-smith-says-he-mixed-alcohol-prescription-drugs-the-night-he-went-missing/

So much for not speaking ill of the dead when they cannot defend themselves. Especially when the deceased person is your missing and presumed dead husband. However, Jennifer Hagel Smith for some reason now feels the need to drag the memory of missing honeymooner George Allen Smith IV through the mud. Jennifer Hagel Smith claimed in court that George Smith mixed prescription drugs with alcohol the night he vanished three years ago on the Mediterranean Sea.

[Today]

Attacks like this could cripple the cruise industry.
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/3538744/Pirates-attack-cruise-ship-off-Somali-coast.html

Pirates attack cruise ship off Somali coast

Shots were fired after the luxury cruise ship Oceania Nautica was chased by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
 
By Oliver Smith
Last Updated: 4:52PM GMT 01 Dec 2008

 The Oceania Nautica has outrun pirates off the coast of Somalia
A luxury cruise ship carrying dozens of British passengers has been attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, en route to Oman.

The Oceania Nautica was fired at during its 32-day voyage from Rome to Singapore.

The ship – carrying 690 passengers and 386 crew – was approached yesterday by two small skiffs which fired several shots.

No one on board was hurt and Nautica's captain Jurica Brajcic was able to take evasive action and outrun the two boats.

"One of the skiffs did manage to close the range to 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots in the direction of the vessel before trailing off," said a statement by Oceania. "No one aboard Nautica was harmed and no damage was sustained."

29 Britons are on board the cruise ship, which is due to arrive in Oman today. Passengers paid an average of £15,000 for the cruise.

Last week's capture of the 330-metre Sirius Star, containing two million barrels of oil, was the largest of nearly 100 vessels to be attacked off the coast of Somalia this year.

However, the interception of a cruise ship is far less common. The Gulf of Aden is regularly crossed by cruise ships and the waters are patrolled by anti-piracy forces.

The last such incident involving a cruise ship occurred in November 2005 when the liner Seabourn Spirit was fired upon with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, injuring one crew member.

A spokeswoman for the Passenger Shipping Association - which represents Oceania Cruises - described the incident as a rarity, and maintained that cruising was a safe way to travel.

"Safety is of utmost importance to all cruise companies," she said.

"Each ship must follow security standards and procedures to ensure the well-being of passengers and staff, and they liase with national security and intelligence agencies."

The size of cruise ships means that it can be difficult to board them from smaller vessels. When threatened, some liners possess long-range acoustic devices (LRAD), which emit high frequency noise, to deter potential attackers.
 

[MuffyBee]

Cruise ship evacuated due to Somali pirate threat


BERLIN – Hundreds of passengers on a round-the-world cruise will disembark before reaching waters off Somalia and fly to Dubai to avoid pirates, German cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd said Tuesday.

The company said the 150-meter (490-foot) MS Columbus and its crew will continue on through the Gulf of Aden. Passengers will rejoin the vessel in Oman for the remainder of a trip that began last month in Genoa, Italy.

A company spokesman said passengers would be transferred to planes, but would not comment further.

Pirates off the Somali coast have recently started trying to take cruise vessels after a string of attack on cargo ships, including a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other weapons.

The British naval commander in charge of the European Union's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia said Tuesday that the force may station armed guards on the most vulnerable cargo ships in high-risk areas.

British Vice-Admiral Philip Jones said the guards may be placed on some ships transporting food aid to Somalia.

The EU mission includes four ships and two maritime reconnaissance aircraft On Dec. 15 it will replace a four-vessel NATO flotilla that has been conducting anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_eu/piracy

[Nut44x4]

Search On For Missing Cruise Passenger

POSTED: 2:31 pm EST December 26, 2008

MIAMI -- The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican authorities are searching for a missing cruise ship passenger who may have gone overboard near Cancun.

Authorities said 36-year-old Jennifer Seitz's husband reported her missing from the Norwegian Pearl on Friday around 3:50 a.m. Her hometown was not immediately available.

A Coast Guard search and rescue crew aboard a Falcon jet joined a helicopter on Friday and three surface-asset crewsNorwegian Cruise Line says the ship left Sunday from Miami for a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise.  from Mexico to scan the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.nbc6.net/news/18362458/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news

[2NJSons_Mom]

Jennifer Seitz

Event Date: December 26, 2008

Bruise: Missing

Bruise Location: Off Mexico

Age:  36

Home Town: Missouri

Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Lines

Ship: Norwegian Pearl

Webcam: Here

Details:
A female passenger has gone missing about 15 miles east of Cancun, Mexico in the Caribbean Sea, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) reports.

Lt. Matt Moorlag of the USCG based in Miami, said crews would work into the night to find the missing woman identified as Jennifer Seitz. Seitz's husband reported her missing aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Pearl at about 0340 hours on the morning of December 26, 2008.

The search was centered about 15 miles east of Cancun, Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen, a Coast Guard spokesman.
 

 
 
Cancun, Mexico is in the far western Caribbean, on the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula.

Norwegian Pearl was on a 7-day Western Caribbean Cruise, having left Miami on Sunday, December 21st for the Christmas holiday cruise. The Pearl is due back in Miami on Sunday, December 28, 2009, when it will leave again for the New Year's cruise.

"Initial reports indicate the guest may have gone overboard while the ship was at sea, east of Cancun," a spokeswoman for the Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement.

The Coast Guard dispatched an Air Station Miami HU-25 Falcon jet crew, and a C-130 fixed-wing aircraft crew from the Air Station in Clearwater, Florida, also was headed to the site, Ameen said.

UPDATE: December 27, 2008 - 1030 Hours

The search continues for Mrs. Seitz, after the USCG suspended the search last night. Mrs. Seitz has now been missing in the sea for at least 31 hours.

It is expected the USCG will call off the search and rescue soon.

This story is unfolding, please check  back.

http://www.cruisebruise.com/Jennifer_Feitz.html

[Blonde]

US Coast Guard searches for woman who fell from cruise ship

18 hours ago

MIAMI (AFP) — The US Coast Guard said Saturday it launched a C-130 airplane to scour the southeastern Gulf of Mexico in search of a woman who fell from a cruise ship.

The woman was reported missing early Friday from the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl when the vessel was some 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of the Mexican resort town of Cancun en route to Miami, said Coast Guard spokesman Nick Ameen.

After searching the ship, crewmembers contacted Mexican and US authorities for help.

A Coast Guard search and rescue team in Miami launched an HU-25 Falcon jet crew to search for the woman Friday, Ameen said.

And on Saturday "we conducted a first-light search with a C-130 fixed-wing aircraft," Ameen told AFP. "We'll continue to be out there until further notice."

The Mexican government has a helicopter crew and three vessels also searching for the woman, Ameen said.

The missing passenger was identified by her husband as Jennifer Seitz, 36.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ieQJn0K5wlGrpi_20mHghMdipjvA

[Nut44x4]

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- The US Coast Guard say now the woman who reportedly fell overboard early Friday morning is named Jennifer Seitz and not Feitz.  They are not able to say yet where she lived but the search the continues.  Three Mexican Navy boats and a helicopter were searching the waters off the Caribbean resort of Cancun on Saturday.

A US Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew using a Falcon jet halted its efforts to find 36-year-old Seitz late Friday. It was planning to resume early Saturday morning using a larger C-130 aircraft, said Petty Officer Third Class Nick Ameen.

Seitz's husband reported her missing from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship just before 5 a.m. EST Friday. Mexico's Fifth Naval Regional Command said in a statement that by late Friday it had found no sign of Seitz and was having to deal with "adverse conditions" and strong waves in the search taking place just over 17 miles (27 kilometers) east of Cancun.

"The search is being carried out for an American woman who fell into the sea from a cruise ship east of Isla Mujeres," an island just off the coast from Cancun, the statement said.

Norwegian Cruise Line says the ship left Sunday from Miami for a seven-day western Caribbean cruise.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/mostpopular/story/Coast-Guard-searching-for-missing-cruise-ship/KE_F4CMfT0y3SpHbGoRILg.cspx

[Nut44x4]

http://www.cruisebruise.com/Jennifer_Feitz.html has been moved>>

This case has been moved after the USCG initially reported the victims's name incorrectly.

The page is here
http://www.cruisebruise.com/Jennifer_Seitz.html

[2NJSons_Mom]

http://www.cruisebruise.com/Jennifer_Feitz.html has been moved>>

This case has been moved after the USCG initially reported the victims's name incorrectly.

The page is here
http://www.cruisebruise.com/Jennifer_Seitz.html

This part is suspicious, imo, especially if details are correct.

The second turn is new information that a video tape caught Jennifer Seitz going overboard, in her  bath robe, around 2000 hours on the evening of Christmas Day.  This time frame is seven and half hours earlier that the first reports.

This would have the husband reporting his missing wife almost eight hours after she had gone overboard. It also means the USCG and Mexican authorities did not begin the search until nine hours after Mrs. Seizt went into the sea.

[Nut44x4]

Blonde...we had started discussing this in Missing Cruise peeps, etc. Then it was reported that her name was changed because it was reported wrong. So I merged what we had in Missing Cruise peeps to the thread you started for Jennifer, but it shows I started the thread. When threads are merged...the first post on the topic shows as the started thread. Confused yet? Anyway...just wanted you to know I did not hijack your thread...I hope this explains it.

[Nut44x4]

Surveillance video on the ship showed a person going overboard at 8:08 p.m. Thursday. Norwegian Cruiselines has not released the video.
http://www.wesh.com/news/18369986/detail.html

[bleachedblack]

Missing from the Norwegian Pearl: About Jennifer Seitz
Posted at 9:56 PM Dec 28, 2008

Missing Norwegian Pearl passenger Jennifer Ellis Seitz was a freelance writer who had struggled with weight issues in the past and been married twice in the last two years. Jennifer was on the Pearl with her new husband Raymond Seitz and an older woman named Donna Ellis. Ellis is Jennifer's maiden name, so it seems likely that Donna is her mother.

Jennifer Seitz married Michael Rich on June 5, 2005, but the marriage clearly didn't last long. By early 2008, she was married to Raymond Seitz.

Jennifer and Raymond were both members of ObesityHelp.com. There they each kept diaries of the run-up to their respective lap band surgeries. Jennifer actually had two -- diary 1, diary 2. Both were clearly the work of someone accustomed to expressing herself, and were filled with wit and hope. Raymond had his own diary here, and it was more terse and to the point, as well as reflecting his devotion to Nascar, particularly racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. In a note near the bottom of the diary, Raymond wrote about Jennifer:

    When I started this journey in august 2002 I would have never dreamed that I would have been this succesfull I did everything I am suppose to and still do I take my vitamins and get my blood work done reguarally It always comes back awesome my doctor said I have deffinatally done well so hurray for me Thanks to all who have helped me along the way and expecially my surgery and lifelong friend Jen Ellis ( who by the way is such a hottie and has done wonderfull for herself)...

The story of Jennifer's disappearance from the Norwegian Pearl on December 26 is still confusing and full of holes. Several people claiming to have been on the cruise have left comments on a previous entry about the disappearance. Some of the comments are quoted  (or partially quoted) below:

    Kiran: My husband and I just disembarked from the "Norwegian Pearl" today; the same cruise that this woman was on.

    While watching the evening news in our state room a couple of nights ago, we were shocked to learn of the possibility that a woman had fallen overboard.

    It is odd that no announcement of the incident was made by the cruise staff. It seems as though they would have made it public, posted a photo of the woman, and asked guests for any infomration they may have had regarding the passenger on the evening and early morning of her disaapearance.

    The whole ship just went about its activities oblivious to the tradegy. Word spread among some guests during our last day. Everyone we spoke with shared the same suprise that no announcement was made and at the lack of any attempt on the part of NCL to gather information regarding the incident.

    My heart goes out to the her family. I hope they find her.

    Adam Bercovici: I also just got off the Norwiegan Pearl early this morning. The way the ship handled the situation was absolutely dispicable. We were not notified of the situation to see if we could have helped. After asking around to a number of people, I found a family from Louisiana who said that they were directly one floor under the alleged room and heard loud screaming around 8:00pm on Christmas Day, the day we left Cozumel on track to the private cruise island in the Bahamas. The family told us that they called security because they distinctly heard the words "stop hitting me" but that security did nothing in response to their inquiry. Why would it take the husband 6 hours to report his wife missing??? The cruise also should have sent some security personnel over to the room immediately after they were notified. There were many other problems with the Norweigan Pearl that would make me never want to go back but I think this one clinches it...

    rachelle: i was on the ship and there was NO COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH!. we weren't even told she was missing. we found out through cnn. when i asked security about it they said "no comment". wft? cover up....

Another comment was interesting more for who appeared to leave it:

    kerry sanders: If you were on the "Pearl" and happened to buy the video "the not-quite-newlywed show" or if you taped it yourself, I'd love to chat with you. Obviously, that tape has some elements which are now highly interesting. Cheers

Kerry Sanders is the name of a well-known correspondent for NBC and the poster left an NBC e-mail address -- in an address format typically known only to NBC staffers and those of us who have reason to write to them. Sanders typically works stories out of Florida -- so it doesn't seem a big stretch to think this was the reporter himself.

Someone calling themselves "Dr. Tara Kent" left the most interesting, but perhaps most questionable comment:

    Dr. Tara Kent: My husband and I were among the last eight passengers off the ship today; what can I say, he was lazy? Anyhow in the hallway oblivious to the fact that he was being overheard an FBI Agent was giving report to his superiors and it was startlingly lacking in any as previously mentioned by another "poster" real intensive investigative drive. The Agent stated that they were debriefing the two cabins beside the incident and the one above and below. He also stated that he was debriefing the mother...and a "person of interest" - no mention of the male party present. The only reason I am repeating this is because I work for the DOD in a high security related field and I too am appalled by the way the entire incident was handled to include the last part - giving report in an unsecure area - how sloppy... It'd be real easy to commit suicide aboard - you'd be caught on camera as mentioned...homicide, well that's just a bit harder, but not impossible. Oh, yeah I agree about the comprehensive search - there was NONE!!! Deregulation of the cruise industry...hmmmmm, what a phenomenal idea...

The commenter gave specific, verifiable information and was clearly educated, based on writing style. However, it's easy to doubt anyone who claims to "work for the DOD in a high security field" because it seems like the sort of thing you wouldn't say in a blog comment, especially with a real-sounding name attached. I copied "Dr. Tara Kent's" comment into this post simply because it will either be proven b.s. shortly or become the most interesting post left on the previous blog entry about this case.

Police reportedly have video from the ship of a woman in white clothing -- perhaps a robe -- going overboard on the 26th. This has been reported in a manner that leads one to conclude Jennifer Seitz intended to go overboard. And that possibility should not be dismissed. She struggled a great deal with her weight, and a freelance writer never has it easy, career-wise -- it's often feast or famine. Also, two marriages over the space of 3 years seems odd, and potentially indicative of some instability in Jennifer's life -- the sort of instability that could eventually lead to self-destruction.

But why would Kerry Sanders be interested in a tape such as the one he described above, if that was indeed Mr. Sanders? Typically, he'd be interested because he's all over the story and knows some news is on the way.

Whatever happened the other night in the western Caribbean, it added up to tragedy for those who know and love Jennifer Seitz. The question now is this -- was it a personal tragedy, only dragged into the news because of the exotic locale, or a domestic tragedy and a crime?  We'll probably know very soon. If we don't, you'll be hearing about Jennifer Seitz in the news for many days to come.

**ADDED LATER** Bitten and Bound clarifies information about the video mentioned in a comment by Kerry Sanders:

    Ray and Jennifer were participants on a cruise ship game show called "The Not So Newlyweds" where it was learned they have been married for about a year, and had their first date in Orlando, FL.

Thanks to Andrea for the heads-up.

[MSNBC/WESH also: hat-tip to long-time reader Diane for the research and input.]

    *
    *
    *

View Comments (4) | Post Your Comment

Categories: missing persons, unsolved
Tags: Cancun, cruise ship, disappearance, Jennifer Feitz, Jennifer Seitz, Norwegian Pearl, overboard, US Coast Guard, USCG
Comments
Andrea said:

Ray and Jennifer were participants on the cruise ship game show Sanders is interested in.
http://www.bittenandbound.com/2008/12/28/jennifer-ellis-seitz-identified-as-woman-missing-from-cruise-ship-photos/
Posted 12/28/2008 at 11:49:00 PM
cem said:

When I was on a Royal Carribean cruise several years ago a man jumped overboard in an attempt to kill himself after losing his life savings in the casino. Immediately there was an announcement made and searches conducted. The Captain made several announcements and within a few hours he was picked up (ironically) by a gambling ship. The captain made the following announcement (even in the cabins), "He has been found. He can speak. He is ok."
That became the mantra for the rest of the cruise. "I can speak. I am ok."
Posted 12/29/2008 at 12:08:19 AM
abby said:

I was also on the pearl this past week and the cruise ship didn't inform anyone of what was going on. I am discusted of how ncl handled the situation. My family found out on dec 26 around 4 p.m. we were freaked out!!! we didn't know what to do. People started to find out from the news and were discusted that they weren't informed about jennifer. My brother stayed on the opposite side of the hall as jennifer and you could see that there was tape over the key hole and card slot (room #11122). I had heard from a source on board that this was no suicide or accident. I am afraid that no one will know what happened to jennifer except for the crew members and her husband. We all need to keep praying for jennifer and her family. I saw the dating show too and her husband kept saying sorry mom..., jennifer kept hiding her face, they were arguing and the looked completely drunk. They said stuff like they met in a bar and had sex in an alley... huh..... pick your men carefully girls!!
Posted 12/29/2008 at 12:23:42 AM
maggie said:

I don't have anything to add to this conversation, but your coverage of this story, Steve, is an excellent example of why I keep coming back to you and the various blogs you've had over the years. Great work as always, and thank you.
Posted 12/29/2008 at 08:51:09 AM


http://www.truecrimereport.com/2008/12/missing_from_the_norwegian_pea.php

[Nut44x4]

Cruise ship returns with passenger missing, FBI investigating
Surveillance images show passenger falling

6:48 AM EST, December 29, 2008
MIAMI - Cruise ship surveillance images show a woman falling overboard hours before her husband reported her missing from the Miami-based Norwegian Pearl last week, U. S. Coast Guard officials said Sunday.

The FBI began an investigation into the woman's disappearance when the 15-deck vessel returned to the Port of Miami on Sunday morning.

"We're looking to see if a crime was committed on the high seas," said FBI Special Agent Michael Leverock.

He said agents interviewed passengers and crew members Sunday morning and searched the cabin that Jennifer Seitz, 36, occupied. Authorities declined to release additional information about Seitz, including the name of her hometown.

Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard boats and helicopters are searching water off the Caribbean resort of Cancun for Seitz.

Mexico's Fifth Naval Regional Command said in a statement it had found no sign of Seitz. The search was taking place just over 17 miles east of Cancun and beyond, with crews covering more than 2,500 square miles.

After they disembarked, many cruise ship passengers said they were unaware of the situation.

"What missing person? You mean from the show?" said Ginny Miller, 56, of Ohio. She wondered whether the case was related to a mystery-dinner show offered on the cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line officials did not alert passengers because "there was no public safety issue," said AnneMarie Mathews, spokeswoman for the cruise line.

Authorities said Seitz apparently went overboard about 8 p.m. Friday, as the vessel sailed 15 miles east of Cancun, Mexico. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican navy have concentrated their search on that area, but by Sunday night still had not found any trace of Seitz, officials said.

The Norwegian Pearl, operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, was on a seven-day tour of the western Caribbean when Seitz vanished. The vessel, which can hold as many as 2,394 passengers, left the Port of Miami on Sunday evening for another voyage with the same itinerary.

Although passenger disappearances are relatively rare, considering that millions of people take cruises every year, her case marks the fifth time a passenger or crew member has disappeared off the Florida coast or in the Caribbean basin this year.Major cruise lines have a voluntary agreement with U.S. authorities to alert them to serious incidents involving U.S. citizens. Some legislators have been trying for years to turn that agreement into law but failed again this year. Authorities and cruise line officials say most of the victims either jump overboard to commit suicide, or fall while intoxicated.

"Some of the disappearances are certainly not crime-related," said Robert McCrie, a professor of security management at John Jay College in New York. "Some people just do stupid things, like sitting on a railing while inebriated," said McCrie, who has studied disappearances of passengers from cruise ships.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-flbmissing1229sbdec29,0,3776052.story

[Nut44x4]

This photo is of the woman identified by NBC as Jennifer Seitz, the passenger missing from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship. (NBC Photo / December 29, 2008)

[2NJSons_Mom]

FBI Investigating Case of Missing Cruise Passenger
Monday , December 29, 2008


 The FBI has joined the investigation into the disappearance of a woman believed to have fallen off a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

Jennifer Seitz was reported missing just before 5 a.m. EST Friday on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship by her husband. It was sailing off of Cancun, Mexico, at the time of her disappearance, and U.S. Coast Guard officials said surveillance footage showed a woman believed to be Seitz falling from the ship.

"We're looking to see if a crime was committed on the high seas," said FBI Special Agent Michael Leverock told the Sun-Sentinel.

Leverock said agents spoke to the missing woman's husband when they met the ship at the dock on Sunday. The FBI collected materials on the scene.

Seitz and her husband, identified by several media outlets at Ray Seitz, are believed to be from Winter Haven, Fla.

A U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew using a C-130 aircraft was looking for the 36-year-old woman late Sunday.

Mexico's Fifth Naval Regional Command said in a statement it had found no sign of Seitz. The search was taking place just over 17 miles east of Cancun and beyond. Crews have covered more than 2,500 square miles searching for Seitz.

Norwegian Cruise Line said the ship returned to Miami Sunday after a seven-day western Caribbean cruise.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,473511,00.html

*******
There's also a video of an interview with a woman who was a passenger on the ship on the right side of the article if you click on the link.  She spoke of rumors of the couple fighting, not being informed by the ship staff, etc.

[sharon]

http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/830007.html


FBI joins investigation of missing cruise passenger
 

The red square off the coast of Cancun shows where Jennifer Seitz went missing. PROVIDED BY THE CIA
Photo
Related Content
Jennifer Ellis-Seitz LinkedIn Profile  CBS4 | Clue To Cruise Ship Passenger's Disappearance  BY JOSE PAGLIERY
jpagliery@MiamiHerald.com

The FBI is investigating the disappearance of a Florida woman who may have fallen from a cruise ship 15 nautical miles east of Cancun on Christmas, according to Coast Guard officials and passengers.

Jennifer Seitz, 36, was on a seven-day cruise with her husband aboard the Norwegian Pearl as it traveled through the West Caribbean.

Her husband, whose identity has not yet been released by officials, reported his wife missing at 3:40 a.m. Friday, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Jennifer Johnson.


Passengers, however, identified the husband as Ray and said that he and Jennifer Seitz lived in central Florida.

Seitz, an American citizen, is believed to have gone overboard 15 nautical miles east of Cancun.

Coast Guard officials dispatched a Falcon jet from Miami to track down Seitz immediately after they were notified at 7 a.m. At the time, the cruise ship made its way back to Miami, from which it had departed.

U.S. forces joined the Mexican navy, searching 4,200 square miles -- an area slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut.

The Coast Guard later sent a C-130 plane from its base in Clearwater to patrol the area. On Saturday, the sole U.S. aircraft patrolling the waters returned.

Johnson said the Mexican navy continues to have a helicopter and patrol boat near where she disappeared.

The Coast Guard is now developing search plans and providing information for Mexican forces, Johnson said.

The ship pulled into the Port of Miami on Sunday.

The FBI is investigating any possible criminal activity, Johnson said. The Coast Guard is investigating if there were any issues regarding safety compliance on the ship.

Two passengers, Suzanne and Ray Nestor of Connecticut, befriended the couple on ship, saying they ''stood out'' among the ship's passengers.

''They were a couple that was there to have a good time,'' Jim Nestor told NBC's Today show. ``They were definitely different, in my opinion. They were loud; they were what I consider wild. . . . They stood out a lot more than other people.''

The two couples met on the cruise when they participated in an on-board game called ''The Not Quite Newlywed Game,'' modeled on the TV show The Newlywed Game.

[sharon]

This is really a wierd coincidence 

I'm an avid reader -- who hasn't had a chance to read in 2 years. 

I'm off from work last week and this week -- so last week I just grabbed a book from the 'light reading' shelf (without looking) and went and sat outside and started reading.

The book is called Skinny Dip -- and it is by Carl Hiassen.

It is about a woman who is thrown overboard on the last night of an anniversary cruise by her husband.

He pushes her over about 11pm, reports her missing in the morning around 8am, and says she left the room to look at the moon around 3am.

In this same area.


Of course, the book is a comedy and there is nothing funny about it when it happens for real. 

[Nut44x4]

Egads Sharon! That is weird.. 

[Nut44x4]

FBI Talks To Husband Of Missing Cruise Passenger
Search Continues For Woman Off Mexican Coast

POSTED: Monday, December 29, 2008

MIAMI -- FBI agents have talked to the husband of a woman who reportedly fell from a cruise ship balcony in the waters off Cancun.

FBI spokesman Mike Leverock said agents met the ship at the dock Sunday, collected materials and "are still trying to determine if a crime occurred."

The Coast Guard said a cruise ship surveillance camera showed someone falling overboard at 8 p.m. on Christmas.

Passenger Jennifer Seitz was reported missing from the Norwegian Pearl ship by her husband just before 5 the next morning. Television station WFTV in Orlando reports the 36-year-old missing woman is from Winter Haven in central Florida.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Nick Ameen said Monday that Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard boats and helicopters are continuing to search for her.
http://www.justnews.com/mostpopular/18374568/detail.html

[Nut44x4]

Missing woman’s husband acted odd, passengers say
Video captured woman falling from cruise ship; ‘They were different’

updated 26 minutes ago
At 8 p.m. on Christmas night, a surveillance camera on a Caribbean cruise ship captured the image of a woman in a bathrobe falling over the railing. Two days later, her husband accepted condolences from a fellow passenger and announced his immediate plans — a trip to the ship’s casino.

The husband, identified as Raymond Seitz of central Florida, had reported his wife missing around 4 a.m. Friday, eight hours after the camera recorded the image of the woman identified as his wife, 36-year-old Jennifer Ellis-Seitz. No announcement was ever made to other passengers, and the ship continued on its way as if nothing had happened, according to Jim and Suzanne Nestor, who talked about the incident with TODAY’s Lester Holt Monday in New York.

“He had a plastic bag filled with quarters,” Jim Nestor said, recalling his meeting with Raymond Seitz on Saturday. “He said to me that he was going to the casino to see if he could change his luck.”

Nonchalant behavior
In a report filed for NBC News by Kerry Sanders, other passengers reported similar behavior by Seitz in the wake of his wife’s disappearance.

One passenger, Carter Scurry, described Seitz as “nonchalant.” The man, Scurry said, showed “no remorse.” Scurry said Seitz told him, “Yeah, she might have jumped overboard.”

Raymond Seitz was not detained by police after leaving the ship Sunday in Miami and has not been charged with a crime. The FBI searched the ship for evidence on Sunday before it took on a new load of passengers and embarked on another cruise. Authorities have not said if they suspect an accident, suicide or foul play.

According to media reports cited in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jennifer Ellis-Seitz is a former Florida newspaper reporter who has also trained poll workers at election time, driven a school bus, and worked as a freelance media professional.

‘Poor protocol’
Jim Nestor is a retired state trooper from Connecticut. He and his wife expressed surprise at the way the disappearance of Ellis-Seitz was handled by the crew of the Norwegian Pearl, a cruise ship operated by the Norwegian Cruise Line.

There were “no announcements. No cabin checks. Nobody showed a picture of her. It was all word of mouth,” Suzanne Nestor told Holt. “From what I understand, somebody’s mother had called a passenger because she had seen it on the news.”

Other passengers learned of the death while watching cable news on the shipboard televisions.

Speaking as a law enforcement professional, Jim Nestor said that what he saw of the crew’s investigation showed “definitely poor protocol. I thought we should at least have been notified that something like this had taken place on the ship.”

The Nestors described Raymond and Jennifer Seitz as a couple determined to enjoy themselves. “They were a couple that was there to have a good time,” Jim Nestor said. “They were definitely different, in my opinion. They were loud; they were what I consider wild ... They stood out a lot more than other people.”

The two couples had met earlier in the cruise when they participated in an on-board game called “The Not Quite Newlywed Game,” modeled on the TV show “The Newlywed Game.” The Nestors, the long-married couple in the group, said their understanding was that the Seitzes had been married one year. A corroborating report said that the couple were celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary on the cruise.

During the game, Jim Nestor talked with Raymond Seitz and his wife Suzanne talked to Jennifer Ellis-Seitz. “She told me [that] after this cruise they were going back to Orlando, where they lived, and she was already packed for another trip to go up north to Bridgeport, Conn., and spend New Year’s Eve in Manhattan,” Suzanne Nestor related.

A video of the onboard game show is blurry and showed little detail of the Seitzes, who were “Couple No. 1” on the show. When word began to spread around the ship that a woman was missing, Jim Nestor said he told friends in the group he was traveling with, “I bet it was Contestant No. 1.”

‘Kind of tight-lipped’
After Ellis-Seitz went missing, Raymond Seitz continued to move around the ship. One passenger told NBC News he even saw Seitz keeping company with another woman. When Jim Nestor talked to Raymond Seitz, he said he couldn’t say anything.

“He was kind of tight-lipped,” Jim Nestor told Holt. “He was talking through his teeth. He told me that he was being watched. He said he was told by the captain he could get out of being confined to a room if he stayed on his own and didn’t deal with any other passengers on the trip.”

The Nestors said that news of the disappearance became like a murder mystery among the other passengers. With no information coming from the cruise line, rumors abounded.

Cruise lines are not required to report deaths, but an investigative report by The Naples News in February 2007 reported that more than 12 million people take cruises every year. From 1999-2007, 97 cruise ship deaths were recorded by the Broward County coroner’s office, the paper reported. From 2004-2007, the Miami Dade County coroner recorded 33 deaths. Most are due to natural causes, and most occur among the large number of retirees who take cruises.

Hampered search
The Coast Guard and Mexican navy searched for the woman over the weekend before calling it off Monday afternoon.

FBI spokesman Mike Leverock says agents met the ship as it arrived in Miami on Sunday, collected materials and “are still trying to determine if a crime occurred.”

A Coast Guard spokesman told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that their efforts were hampered because of the 11-hour gap between the fall recorded on the videotape at 8 p.m. Thursday night and the start of the search. It was almost 5 the following morning before Raymond Seitz reported his wife’s disappearance, after which ship personnel did a three-hour search of the Norwegian Pearl before calling the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard spokesman called the three-hour search “standard operating procedure for them, when they aren’t certain that someone has actually gone overboard.” He also said that the videotape, which is being analyzed by the FBI, is “crucial” to search efforts. According to Orlando, Fla., TV station WFTV, there were about 1,000 surveillance cameras aboard the Norwegian Pearl, raising hopes that more images might help authorities figure out what happened to Ellis-Seitz.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28419077/
video at link >>
Dec. 29: An American woman is missing after going overboard on a Christmas cruise. TODAY’s Lester Holt talks to two passengers who got to know the woman on the trip.