December 12, 2005

CRUISE SHIP ENTHUSIASTS--BEWARE


Cruise ship missing Canadian passenger; Coast Guard searching


The Associated Press

A U.S. Coast Guard plane and Bahamian naval boats were searching today for a Canadian woman who may have fallen overboard from a cruise ship off the Bahamas, an official said.

How does one fall overboard...unless it was intentional/suicide? Where are the video cameras that everyone seems to have on us these days?


Jill Begora, 59, was reported missing by her husband Saturday morning as the Royal Caribbean cruise ship ''Jewel of the Seas'' pulled into Nassau, the Bahamian capital, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr said. The cruise ship arrived early today to Broward County's Port Everglades, where Coast Guard officials conducted an onboard investigation, the Coast Guard said.

The ship's crew filed a missing person's report with the Coast Guard after a search of the vessel turned up no sign of Begora, Warr said. ''They did a full ship search and there was no evidence that she had left the ship in Nassau,'' leading authorities to believe she may have fallen overboard, Warr said.

A Coast Guard C-130 plane was conducting an overhead search about 25 miles northeast of Nassau, the area where the ship was when Begora was first reported missing, Warr said. Bahamian Defense Force boats were searching along shorelines and beaches. ''We're working together to search all the possible areas,'' Warr said.

Royal Caribbean didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment. The Jewel of the Seas is one of the Florida-based companies newer cruise ships and can hold 2,100 guests, according to Royal Caribbean's Web site. It arrived to the Bahamas from the eastern Caribbean island of Antigua, Warr said.