FBI Probing Baltimore Cruise Ship Death
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Suspicious death. The FBI is now investigating what happened to a woman who died on board a Baltimore-based cruise ship this weekend.
Derek Valcourt has more on the investigation and spoke with one of the passengers aboard the ship.
When the ship pulled into the Port of Baltimore on Monday morning, the FBI was ready, calling the woman's death suspicious without saying why.
More than 2,400 people were on board Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship when the FBI reports one of those passengers -- a 64-year-old woman from Midlothian, Va. -- died.
Her husband reportedly found her Sunday morning lifeless inside their cabin 7110 on the seventh floor.
FBI agents boarded the ship Monday morning and conducted some passenger interviews.
"We were on the same floor as where this happened, on the opposite side of the ship though," said Terri, passenger. "None of us were interviewed, or at least nobody on our side of the ship was. They padlocked the door and there was a guard sitting in front of it throughout Sunday and into Monday morning."
The seven-day cruise traveled from Baltimore to Port Canaveral, Fla. onto Nassau in the Bahamas and then Cococay before turning around.
Passengers on board knew little about what was going on.
"Rumors spread rapidly. At first it was a murder-suicide," Terri said. "They try to keep it hush hush on the cruise. I'm sure they didn't want anyone panicking 'Oh my God, a murder has taken place on the cruise' that sort of thing-- specifically when they didn't even have the storyline at this point."
The FBI only says the woman's death was suspicious, which could mean anything according to security expert Rob Weinhold.
"Generally, a suspicious death is in order when there is an unexpected death or not easily explained circumstances, like no obvious signs of trauma," Weinhold said.
"You know hopefully it was an accident. My feelings, my heart, prayers go out to the family that was affected by this," Terri said.
While the FBI awaits autopsy results, its investigative work on board the ship appears to be over.
In fact, the Enchantment of the Seas is already back out on its next cruise to the Bahamas.
The Enchantment of the Seas has been based out of Baltimore for the last three years.
