Man Disappears From Cruise Ship, he was on his honeymoon

Has anybody else been following this? A man on a Royal Caribbean ship was on his honeymoon, and disappeared, presumed murdered. Alot of blood was found on the canopy below his cabin balconey.

The wife went home and hasn't spoken since.

The blood was cleaned before samples were taken.

People next door heard arguing between several people in the cabin.

The victim was well liked. And was rumored to be carrying large amounts of cash on him.

So many unanswered questions! Someone murdered him and dumped the body, but who? And why? And why is the cruise ship company trying to hush this up?

Last night the brother of a woman who also disappeared from a cruise ship years ago spoke out. Her purse was found by the railing and a nearby security camera was diccovered with the lense obscured. He has received few answers and help solving the case.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/01/...ain712989.shtml

I can't say I've been following it, but I have run into it on the news, and it sounds like something right out of a mystery novel. I thought I heard he was heavily in debt (?), and my first thought was that maybe his death was faked. But I'm no Columbo, so I'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.

TZ, I have been following it, Court TV has given it extensive coverage and it is fascinating. The picture of the blood spot/stain/puddle below on a deck is just gruesome looking...can't imagine this guy survived...grace thinks he's swimming with the fishes...

The wife's behavior is a little odd. The arguing that was overheard was between the two of them, they both had consumed a great deal of booze and the groom had been heard bragging about the large amount of cash he had and was in their cabin (Hmmm...cruise ship safety smarts not being exercised here!), I think I heard in excess of $50,000. So wifey wakes up and hubby is gone and she goes to an exercise class without nary a thought about it... !

I heard the arguing heard sounded like two different men in the room. this is so weird.

Be careful on cruise ships. You don't know people's true background and you can't just call 911 for an emergency.

This looks like another one that I had not heard of from back in June:

www.nbc4.tv/news/3975791/detail.html

So now then we have this gal in this story from June, 05


There is the one where the 18-19 year old daughter was with her Mom, Dad and brother and she went missing in the middle of the night quite a while ago.

The woman whose purse was found near the railing.

The male honeymooner

This guy from 1999

cbsnews.com/stories/.../earlyshow/living/travel/main760857_page2.shtml

Yikes...

Yep I've been following this one as well. Usually has a spot right after Natalee Holloway on cable news.

From what I understand this was some serious drinking folks! And arguments were heard to have ensued. And the wifey didn't even realize her husband didn't spend that night in the cabin? Hellooooooooooooooooo!

Definitely something up when nobody from the families have talked.

My idea of a honeymoon is still never being separated from your spouse. Perhaps interacting with other honeymooners at the meal time or in the lounges, but not to go off with these folks and not your significant other!!!!

Weirdness. Something fishy about this tale for sure.

The one about the missing woman, or one like it, was on "Unsolved Mysteries." Again, there were allegations of lying/coverup by the cruise ship company.

I would never set foot on one since hearing that the captain is from one country, the crew from another, and the ship owned by a company registered in another! The law of no country applies on cruise ship. The crew roam free to prey on passengers, to rob and rape at will, and no one is liable for prosecution. Wouldn't get me on one of those things for anything. Luckily, no one's likely to ask me to go. (Don't go either should you happen to win a free one.)

For my 50th Bday gift, I went fishing and camping with my husband (did I mention I won the fishing contest? ) anyway, at my Bday dinner he hands me this fat envelope and says "I really, really worked hard to come up with the perfect gift" and then looked sad...I opened it to find reservations for the beggining and ending of Mardi Gras and a cruise leaving from the port of New Orleans in Feb.'06. and I had wondered why he was cringing when we would read the morning papers after the levees had foundered. So I don't have to worry now about keeping myself safe on a cruise ship By the time we got back home there was an email saying they had refunded our $$ because the ships were to be used to house evacuees and they would not be honoring reservations.

I forgot...have there been any new developments in the instant case?

Isn't it interesting how the hurricane not only wiped out people physically but also out of the headlines? I told you guys I watch cable news and was following all these missing persons' stories. Now you can't find that news anywhere.

For example did you guys know Joran Van der Sloot was released from custody and is in the Netherlands going to school??? He's the Natalee Holloway suspect. I wonder how her family faired thru the storm as they were from Alabama?

Poor Grace, looking for news on old stories and finding none. It's the American way.

Did see Natalee Holloway's mother on the news protesting his release.

Still nothing to my knowledge on the cruise ship groom!!

How 'bout Olivia Newton John's beau? What do you guys thing happened to him? He had money problems. Suicide? Hiding out?

Is he still missing?

Is he still missing?

Let me investigate....First let's give the poor guy a name, I didn't remember it. Patrick McDermott. I googled. No updates since Aug 25! Missing since July 1!

Anybody heard of any updates on this story?

On Court TV tonight:



A blissful couple on a honeymoon cruise in the Aegean. Then tragedy strikes when the groom apparently falls overboard. An accident? Maybe not.

Premieres Monday, December 5 at 10pm E/P
Encores Wednesday, December 7 at 11pm

On June 29th, 2005, newlyweds George Smith and Jennifer Hagel embarked on a honeymoon cruise that should have marked the beginning of a life spent "happily ever after." But five days later the groom was missing, apparently falling overboard. Was it an accident? A suicide? Or something sinister?

Early in the morning of Smith's disappearance, passengers reported hearing a violent struggle coming from the couple's cabin. A few hours later, another passenger photographed what appeared to be a large bloodstain on the side of the ship. Investigators questioned several passengers on the boat including those last seen with Smith: his bride; a 20-year old college student from California; and two Russian men from Brooklyn. This show examines the evidence, the theories, and the principal figures in this bizarre, unsolved mystery. TV-14

Glad you posted this Grace or I would have. I've seen the previews also on Court TV today. Intriguing isn't it? And not lost in the shuffle thank goodness.

Family Seeks Answers About Missing Man From Cruise Line

POSTED: 2:33 am EST December 10, 2005

MIAMI -- The parents and sister of a Connecticut man who disappeared from a cruise ship during his honeymoon in July said Friday they want answers from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. about what happened and are preparing to file a lawsuit against the company.

"No parent should have to go through what we've had to go through," said Maureen Smith, mother of 26-year-old George Allen Smith IV. "We just want to know where he is -- what happened to him."

Smith, of Greenwich, Conn., vanished July 5 from the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas sailing in the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Turkey.

The family's attorney, Brett Rivkind, said the death was suspicious because blood stains were found inside and outside Smith's cabin, and there were reports from other passengers of a loud commotion inside the room before Smith went missing.

Rivkind said the family believes Smith was murdered aboard ship and that Royal Caribbean has attempted a cover-up, including repeatedly calling the disappearance an accident, to protect the company and the cruise industry from bad publicity. The FBI has been investigating but has made no arrests.

"We believe that's because of the cover-up," said Smith's sister, Bree Smith.

Royal Caribbean officials did not immediate return a telephone call seeking comment. In the past, the company has said it is cooperating in the investigation and has turned over requested information to the FBI.

Rivkind said the lawsuit would likely be filed in a few weeks in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages for the family. Smith's wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith, has retained her own lawyer and did not attend Friday's news conference.

Although the lawsuit will seek monetary damages, Bree Smith said the family is most concerned with drawing attention to their loved one's case and to push for changes in the law to better protect cruise passengers and families.

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., is scheduled to hold hearings next week on the cruise industry and how it responds to cases similar to Smith's. The Smith family will provide written testimony for those hearings, Bree Smith said.

Being the cable news junkie that I am I have yet to hear if DNA was done on the blood to see if it's George's. I could have missed it. Anybody know? Grace?

The cruise ship had the blood washed off before samples were taken. All cruise ships are notoriously protective of their images and they didn't want other passengers to see the blood.

Thanks. I didn't think they did.

George Smith's wife has finally started granting interviews. She'll be on Oprah today.

Greta Van Susteren gave the viewers a tour of the ship which was docked in Miami last week.

Forensic folks will be going to the cabin to see if they can retrieve any further evidence (ripping up the carpet, finding fibers, ya know csi stuff)

The FBI has hours of video tape from security cameras on the ship.

To be continued...

So I watched Oprah yesterday. The wife, Jennifer, seems to have no knowledge about what happened to her husband. Funny thing is she has no knowledge about anything that night/morning in question. Can't remember what happened, can't remember what they were drinking, can't remember what was said or if they argued as witnesses claim. Ended up passed out in the passageway on the other side of the ship from their cabin.

Could this be a grief stricken bride? Or just a night of overindulgence? Or selective memory?

What a mess, what a sad situation. I am sure everybody wants answers and we may not ever really find out how he died or who killed him.

anyone watch primetime last night.. the whole show concerned people who went missing on cruise ships.

anyway.. they spoke of the george smith case. seems that the smith's were partying with some guys on the cruise and that mrs smith supposedly was flirting with other men, and when her hubby confronted her they fought. she left and smith and the guys kept partying. the guys then helped smith to his cabin and found that the mrs wasn't there so they went to look for her. no luck so they brought smith back to the cabin.

a neighbor heard a loud noises coming from smith's cabin. sounds of people drinking then arguing. the neighbor called ship officials to complain and banged on the wall. he then heard people leaving the cabin and saw 3 men leave. the neighbor then heard someone talking in smith's cabin and then the sound of moving furniture on the balcony. he then heard a big thud and then silence. hmmm.. pretty suspicious.

anyway.. the neighbor, who is in law enforcement, was surprised that no one came to talk to him or anyone else in the neighboring cabins regarding hearing or seeing anything suspicious.

anyway.. the story gets better.. the guys who were partying with smith, and who were supposedly the last to see him alive, are also involved in another incident on the same cruise. it seems some woman is accussing, i believe two of them, of rape. the guys say it was consentual but who knows.

yup, I saw that last ight too. Seems he was having a bit too much absinthe, got messed up, pissed off some people and got himself killed.

My favorite story of the episode though was the guy that unded up in the Gulf of Mexico for 17 hours before being picked up by a ship....

no my fav.. the woman who went to alaska and disappeared on the second day of the cruise.. was reported missing by a cabin attendant to his boss and what did the crew do??? packed her belongings up and gave them to charity.

Did they include the story which appeared on "Unsolved Mysteries," of a young woman who went on a cruise with her family, parents and brother I think, who believe there was a coverup on the part of the cruise company and she was kidnapped, sold into the white slave trade, or something?

I didn't see Primetime but the Bradley family did surface and are supporting the Natalee Holloway family thinking perhaps this is what happened also to Natalee. This other story is intriguing as well. Folks who have visited the slave trade Caribbean island (Can't remember which) have seen Amy and there are in fact photos. I find it hard believe the authorties can't go there and rescue her.

http://www.tggweb.com/amybradley/

Thanks, Leen! I thought her name was Amy but was afraid I might be confusing her with Amy Billig, who was also featured on "Unsolved Mysteries," http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/billig_amy.html also said to have been seen years after her disappearance.

Cruise ships will do anything to protect their name and image. I've worked on one so I know how the business goes.

Oh do tell!

I will tell whenI can organize my thoughts. Meanwhile, here is another missing person story:

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/...on/13558981.htm

Remind me to never go on a cruise.

You know I've been on several cruises, the nearest port only being 45 minutes away. They are a lot of fun and I like how they are floating cities. Everything you could want is right there.

But while I wouldn't fear for myself or my husband these stories do make me wonder if I would want to have my 21 and 16-year-old daughters on one even with us. I would expect them to go off on their own, give them a little independence from mom and dad. But now? I don't think so. Cell phones are useless on them.

I wonder if these stories are hurting the industry even if just a little?

i too have been on several cruises myself (and already planned the next one) and i felt safe on these trips. i have minimal reservations about my safety on cruises. hey.. things can happen on any kind of vacation you go on. i am aware of my surroundings, it's natural to me being from nyc, and i try not to put myself in an unsafe situation.

are these stories are hurting the industry?? i'm not sure, but i wouldn't think so. remember.. thousands of people go on these cruises and only a handful of people have disappeared. i know, one is too many, but like i said before..bad things can happen in any situation. the only thing that can hurt the industry is if the cruise lines continue to have this unconcerned attitude towards what is happening.

btw.. leen cell phones are useless, but those walky talky things do work.. i've seen some families with them.

I was put right off cruises not only by all the kidnap, rape, and murder stories but by an incident actually witnessed by a lady for whom I worked. She had been on several cruises around the world. Once, in Mexico, a man, obviously just trying to pick up a few extra dollars from tourists, was carrying their luggage to the ship. When he passed a certain point reserved only for passengers, he was summarily executed--shot dead in full view of everyone! The captain made an announcement that that was the law there. A thing like that could sure spoil a cruise for you!

Cori, exactly what is "the law there"? That murder isn't punishable, or that certain people are supposed to be killed, or what? I'm sorry, but I'm having a lot of trouble believing this story.

Presumably that people could be shot on sight for breaking such laws as trespassing--hardly capital offenses in many other locations!