Monday, December 29, 2008

FBI Investigates Norwegian Pearl Passenger's Disappearance

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Pearl returned to the Port of Miami yesterday with one less passenger than it left with a week earlier and agents from the FBI awaited its arrival. As reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, they immediately launched an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Jennifer Seitz, 36, who was a passenger aboard the ship. "We're looking to see if a crime was committed on the high seas," FBI Special Agent Michael Leverock told the Sun-Sentinel. Additionally, he revealed that agents interviewed numerous passengers and crew members after the ship docked in Miami Sunday morning, as well as searched the cabin Seitz shared with her husband for any clues pointing to what may have happened to her.

It has come to light that surveillance footage from a camera aboard Norwegian Pearl, a portrayal of which has subsequently aired on ABC's Good Morning America, showing what appears to be the eerie image of a woman in white going over the railing and into the water. While video footage from the ship reportedly indicates the woman went overboard at about 8 pm on Thursday evening, Seitz's husband didn't report her missing until nearly eight hours later on Friday morning as the vessel sailed east of Cancun, Mexico. Despite an exhaustive air-and-sea search by the US Coast Guard and Mexican Navy, there has been no trace of Seitz in the choppy water. Survival for days in the warm waters of the Caribbean is possible; however, Seitz was more than likely not wearing a life jacket.

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