Cruise Ship Death Investigated By FBI

A cruise ship death is under investigation by the FBI after officials deemed it was suspicious enough to warrant an active investigation.

The 62-year-old woman was found dead in her room on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. While her name and hometown have not been released, officials have stated that she was an American.

The woman, reportedly from Virginia, was found dead on Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas by her husband. The cabin’s door was apparently padlocked at the time.

The Royal Caribbean cruise was originally scheduled for seven days. The ship sailed from Baltimore to Port Canaveral, Florida. It then sailed to Nassau in the Bahamas and then to Cococay. However, it turned around after the passenger’s death.

Rich Wolf, a spokesman with the FBI, stated that agents were sent out to investigate the cruise ship death when it returned to port on Monday. Wolf, who works out of the agency’s Baltimore field office, added that an autopsy will be performed to determine the woman’s cause of death.

FBI agents will also be interviewing the woman’s husband. Wolf did not announce whether the woman had suffered any noticeable injury.

Rob Weinhold, a security expert, explained that an incident can be labeled a suspicious death if it is unexpected or it cannot be explained easily. Examples include when there are no obvious signs of trauma.

Along with interviewing passengers, the FBI blocked access to the deceased woman’s room. One passenger reported that a guard was posted at the room where the cruise ship death occurred.

The Royal Caribbean cruise line issued a statement about the unexpected death, saying that they are cooperating with the FBI. The company added that it is also assisting the family of the woman who passed away. It is expected that FBI agents will continue to investigate the possibility of foul play in the woman’s death.

[Image by Giancarlo Rossi [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons]