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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ker-plunk! SPLASH!
I agree. I have been on three cruises on three different lines, all with balcony staterooms. I had envisioned sitting back in a lounge chair, lighting up an after-dinner cigar, propping my feet up on the rail, and enjoying the sea.
Hell, my feet would have so far over my head I would have looked like a jackknife. You'd really have to work at it to go over the side.
They never will find her, not just because the ocean is so big (and you are no longer at the top of the food chain), but she probably got sucked into the propellers and was pretty well minced.
ping
Thanx. With a name like yours can I take that info to the bank? LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.