Posted on 05/15/2008 5:18:21 AM PDT by grjr21
Surveillance cameras on the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship show a Camden County woman was alone on her balcony when she fell overboard Sunday, the cruise line said last night.
The Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that hallway cameras and cameras on the sides of the ship "confirmed that Mindy Jordan was in her stateroom alone at the time of the incident."
The family of Jordan, 46, of Pine Hill, said Tuesday that it suspected foul play. The family could not be reached last night after the cruise ship's statement was released.
The company did not characterize the incident, and noted that investigations are continuing.
The cruise line said it was arranging for Jordan's family to join the ship in Bermuda today to view the footage.
FBI agents from the New York City office and local authorities in Bermuda conducted interviews on the ship yesterday.
If FBI agents determine that Jordan's fall was accidental, that information will be relayed to family members but not made public, Special Agent Jim Margolin said.
The cruise line released a timeline of events, beginning with Jordan; her boyfriend, Jorge Caputo; and a couple they were traveling with eating dinner in the ship's Garden Cafe.
The couples returned to their adjacent staterooms about 7:28 p.m., the cruise line said.
Eight minutes later, Caputo left his room and joined his friends next door. "From that moment on, Mindy is alone in her stateroom," the cruise line said.
At 7:53 p.m., the cameras show Jordan falling from her balcony, "straight into the water."
The cruise line previously said Jordan, who was staying on deck nine, had been trying to climb to an adjoining balcony when she fell.
Shortly after Jordan's fall, an emergency call was made from the friends' stateroom, and Caputo is seen leaving that room "to seek help," the cruise line said.
Four minutes later, a man-overboard announcement was made, and the ship's crew launched two rescue boats.
Jordan went overboard about 45 miles off Atlantic City, about four hours after the ship had left New York en route to Bermuda.
The Coast Guard joined the search, which was called off on Monday. Jordan's body has not been found.
The cruise ship arrived in Bermuda yesterday. The ship is due back in New York on Sunday morning.
Jordan's family members said this week that they doubted the cruise line's initial account, and they described Jordan's relationship with Caputo as volatile.
The two lived together for more than two years, said Jordan's brother, Steve Lynn. He said Jordan had moved out several months ago, but that the two had apparently reconciled.
Barbara Matthews, the couple's neighbor, described Jordan and Caputo in complimentary terms and said she had seen no evidence of trouble in their relationship.
She said Caputo, who works for a car dealership, had moved next door to her about three years ago with his daughter, Megan, who was 20. Jordan moved in about a year later.
"What I know about him, it's impossible for me to think there was anything sinister going on," she said.
Matthews said she last saw the couple Sunday morning before they left for the cruise.
They were meeting their traveling companions in the parking lot, and Caputo joked with Matthews about watching the house to make sure his daughter didn't have any parties while he was gone.
She said Caputo recently had recovered from back surgery and "was really looking forward" to the trip.
Jordan, a licensed practical nurse, had a 15-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son.
Her mother, Louise Horton of Bordentown City, said she had spoken to Jordan twice on Mother's Day before the ship left port. Caputo called the next morning to say Jordan had died.
"The pieces just don't add together," Horton said Tuesday.
At 7:53 p.m., the cameras show Jordan falling from her balcony, "straight into the water."
The cruise line previously said Jordan, who was staying on deck nine, had been trying to climb to an adjoining balcony when she fell.
I can easily see myself crossing from one balcony to another as a goof when I was a young man but I wouldn't even think about it today unless the room was on fire so I don't see a middle aged woman doing it either without a good reason.
But I've been wrong before.
Was she drinking?
The cruise line said they had just eaten dinner but the ship had only left the dock four hours before .Difficult but not impossible to get that drunk so fast.
I’m not understanding why her family thinks foulplay when she was alone?
I caught part of this story on Greta last night (during timeout’s in the Cav’s game) so I probably missed some info.
"Difficult but not impossible" to get drunk enough to fall off a balcony in four hours? Maybe if you're drinking light beer ...
Jordan's body has not been found.
Not likely they'll ever find her, they are looking for a man.
In most cases, the person who falls is drunk and climbing something. I’ve been on two cruise ships and the railings come up to my chest. They’re just too high for people to “lose their balance” and fall over them.
Cruise ships start boarding passengers around 1-2 pm. Many ships greet you with a glass of bubbly. As soon as I get on board, I stop by my cabin, then head around the ship. They serve food and alcohol as you await the departure.
There is a big party winding down as you leave, but then another starts elsewhere. Booze flows.
I don't drink much. I get a buzz from just being around some of these folk! She had more than enough time to be drunk, or she was possibly just stupid.
MY inquiring mind doesn't really care! "It is appointed..."
I’ve never been on a cruise, either, but I’ve been in college, and one can get drunk in a lot less than 4 hours! Even if you don’t touch the red stuff they mixed up in the bathroom sink!
Maybe she had a blowup with the bf and jumped.
If she’s attempting to climb from balcony to balcony, she’s doing it for a reason. I’m thinking she’s trying to avoid Jorge. She tells him she’s not feeling well and she’s going to bed, he goes off to meet friends in room nearby. She doesn’t want to make any noise slipping out her cabin door....
Also, I would think though that she would have to have known or met whoever was staying in the room of the other balcony. Not sure I’d be jumping onto a stranger’s balcony. Unless, of course, I was extremely desperate... for whatever reason.
After I hit post I realized I was talking about me and my Irish brethren ,we seem to have an above average tolerance.
Continuing on in the Politically Incorrect vein in my twenties I made a vow to never again drink with an Indian >Don't bother to ask why I have stopped discussing it.
The friends were in the room next door.
Because its always the guys fault ?
If so, that makes more sense. She was hammered and was going to try and surprise them by doing something really crazy.
They are waiting for me to come in through the front door, they'll never expect me to show up at the back door. Now if I can j-j-j-ust reach oooover here and..... wa-wa-w-WHOOOoooaaaaaaa....
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ker-plunk!
Yeah, that's what I thought. For whatever reason, she decided to cross the balconies, not the hallway, and fell into the sea (which the cameras recorded).
Personally, I try to avoid doing anything where a slip results in a horrifying death at sea...for the most part.
Makes the most sense. Also sounds as if the friends saw her fall. So were the friends and b/f on the OTHER balcony when she fell?
Um, I guess it is SO much easier to climb balconies than to open a door, step into the hallway, then knock on the door of the next room.
What a maroon.
That’s EXACTLY what I think happened also. IALWAYS think the guys KILLED the women, but I don’t think so on this one.
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