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Threats blamed on lovesickness
Authorities say Laguna Hills woman hoped to end cruise so she could see boyfriend.

by GREG HARDESTY and JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register

She was in paradise. But it felt like prison.

Now a lovesick office clerk from Laguna Hills is behind bars, accused of planting threatening notes on a Hawaiian cruise - hoping to cut the trip short and hurry home to her boyfriend, authorities said.

The notes, left in a women's restroom, touched off a major investigation last week as Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Legend of the Seas was diverted to waters off Oahu midway through a 10-day cruise.

About 120 anti-terrorism agents boarded the ship and searched for biological, chemical, radiological and explosive materials, but found nothing.

They interviewed all 2,369 passengers and crew members, finally honing in on Kelley Marie Ferguson, 20, who later confessed to the scheme, authorities said.

"She's young, confused and in love - if this is what you call love," said her distraught father, Tim Ferguson. "It must be some kind of Romeo and Juliet thing."

Kelley Ferguson was arrested Saturday and remains in custody at a federal detention center in Honolulu. She faces two felony counts of threatening acts of terrorism, which carry a possible 10-year prison sentence.

Authorities also will seek restitution from Ferguson, who was declared indigent and appointed a federal public defender.

News of Ferguson's arrest sparked disbelief Tuesday among neighbors on the quiet cul-de-sac in Laguna Hills where she grew up with her parents and three older sisters.

"I just feel so bad," said neighbor Gina Malone, who has used Kelley Ferguson as a baby sitter for her two children. "She is super sweet - very quiet and shy. I would still trust her with my kids.

"I just think she got caught up in the boyfriend thing. She was just being young and dumb. She wasn't thinking."

Ferguson allegedly wrote in one note: "I have been sent on a mission to kill all Americanos abord Legend if we port on American soil. Do take this serious."

Because the ship had departed from Ensenada, Mexico, Ferguson believed the threats would persuade the captain to turn back instead of stop off, as planned, on the Big Island of Hawaii, authorities said.

Tim Ferguson, who returned to Orange County after his daughter's arrest, said he spent two years planning the cruise with his wife and four daughters, scraping together the money.

"My girls are all getting older, and I wanted to do one more thing with them before they (scattered)," said Ferguson, who owns an auto-repair shop.

"I'm not a rich man," added Ferguson, whose wife, Debbie, remains in Honolulu for her daughter's bail hearing, scheduled for Thursday.

Authorities said the hoax was no laughing matter.

The threatening notes "frightened and severely inconvenienced" the 2,369 people on the ship, said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, in Honolulu.

"Because we now live in a world with a real threat of terrorism ... we must take all threats against U.S. citizens seriously," Kubo said.

He added that he was "disturbed" that Ferguson showed no remorse even after her arrest.

In a similar case of bogus terrorist threats, an Anaheim man who staged an elaborate hoax involving a videotape of a man talking about a Sept. 11 anniversary attack on Disneyland was sentenced, in February, to a year and one day in prison.

Jim Ferguson said his daughter attended Laguna Hills High School and had been dating a 23-year-old man for the past two years.

She helped pay for her boyfriend's car and lived with him off and on, he said.

In the week before the cruise, Kelley moved back into the family home in Laguna Hills, her father said.

All seemed fine in the days leading up to the trip.

"Up until the last day, she seemed to be looking forward to the cruise," he said. "Then on the morning of the cruise, she said she couldn't go. I was mad. ... My only concern was having the whole family go together."

Ferguson told his daughter's boyfriend: "You make sure she goes on this trip. I don't care what you have to say to her. You make sure she goes, or you'll never see her again."

The Legend of the Seas departed Ensenada on April 18 with 1,668 passengers and 701 crew members. The first port of call was scheduled to be Hilo, Hawaii, on April 23.

During the first four days of the cruise, Kelley seemed fine - except for being seasick, her father said.

Then, a member of the ship's cleaning crew found a note in the women's restroom on the sixth deck, according to court documents.

The brief note, in broken English and riddled with misspellings, was not signed.

It said, in part: "Give this warning to El Capti'on to save all lives. Do take this serious he sent me from far away land for mission I will complete if port on American soil. I will kill all."

A second note was found in the same restroom on the fifth day of the cruise. "I must kill all Americans!" it said in part.

The captain informed passengers about the notes and diverted the ship about 220 miles from its scheduled stop in Hilo to an anchorage off Oahu. There, agents boarded the ship.

The next day, April 24, investigators released the ship and it sailed to Kona. But before it was released, a third note was delivered to a person on the ship. That note named Kelley as a target, making her the prime suspect, her father said.

On April 25, while the ship was at sea between Kona and Maui, investigators questioned Kelley and she confessed to the scheme, according to court documents.

Authorities said Kelley and her boyfriend exchanged e-mails during the cruise. They would not elaborate.

Ferguson can't imagine what would inspire his daughter to allegedly write the notes.

"You ask anybody who knows Kelley ... and this is completely out of character," he said. "She's a good kid who didn't want to hurt anyone."