Jennifer Ellis-Seitz
Missing Passenger On Cruise Ship
Norwegian Cruise Lines - December 26, 2008
Jennifer Ellis-Seitz
Event Date: December 25, 2008
Bruise: Missing
Bruise Location: Off Mexico
Age: 36
Home Town: Florida
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.
UPDATE: December 28, 2008 - 0950 Hours
This story has taken an unlikely turn, or two in the past two days. First off, the USCG had reported the woman missing as Jennifer Feitz. The name is now said to be incorrect, with the actual name being Jennifer Seitz.
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 than 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.
Many initial reports said that Seitz was age 33, while many others said she was 36. Current reports say she is 36-years-old. Other incorrect report say she was from Houston, Texas. She is actually from the Orlando, Florida area.
Norwegian Pearl pulled back into Miami, Florida today. It is assumed more details will be coming forward.
UPDATE: December 28, 2008 - 1930 Hours
The FBI met the Norwegian Pearl when she arrived back in Miami. An investigation has begun into the facts that lead up to Mrs. Seitz going over the railing and falling into the Caribbean Sea.
There are now incorrect reports stating that the video footage of the incident was timed at 8:08pm on December 26th. I know this is incorrect, because I had already been working on the case for several hours before that time and the Coast Guard had issued a press release many hours prior to that time. The correct time is likely 8:08pm (2008 hours on the 24 hour clock) on December 25th.
This case continues with new developments on Page 2
