Elation -- Woman overboard!

[alasbound]

It was reported that a woman was missing on the news last night. In fact, I signed on to see if you all had more news. I looked on the news website & it says it was a woman from Houston traveling with her husband and 3 kids. Traveling near Cozumel when missing & she has Epilepsy. It says they did a search on ship & turned around & searched water. I don't know why it's on the news more. Says the Elation returned yesterday without her.

 

This is a link to the news story if it works:

http://www.wfaa.com/s/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/wfaa050627_wz_cruisemissing.4ddb2b63.html

 

Hope it turns out ok. At first I thought that she stayed behind by accident or on purpose, but apparantly they were not in a port.

[hun6903]

I was actually on that cruise. Sad situation.

[GrammyJill]

I read the report that stated she had epilepsy as well. My daughter has had epilepsy for almost 9 years. I have met & admired many many adults living with this disease. I also go to www.efa.org and participate in the ecommunities there.

 

There are many types of seizures many don't realize how you can be having a seizure in a region of your brain that does not make you fall in the floor shaking & drooling. Sure my daughter has tonic/clonic seizures (what they used to call grand mals) but she has more simple partial seizures. Those are the ones that don't affect your awareness. Who knows what happened to this woman but if she was living with epilepsy I'm sure she had some depression, http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsyusa/chattranscript1021.cfm

 

If you have questions about Epilepsy here is a great link: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/answerplace/index.cfm

 

Let's remember her family in our prayers.

[derf5585]

FDA Probes Possible Link Between Epilepsy Drugs, Suicide

from

http://www.healthcentral.com/newsdetail/408/1506138.html

[two cruisers 723]

Not that it's a bad thing, but you are speculating too.

 

The reason for my post was not really to speculate, even though that's how it might have seemed. I just wanted to submit that there might have been other reasons, besides her being selfish or irrational as eluded to in this post;

 

 

 

I just thought this post came across as a title too cut and dried to me. Committing suicide is an irrational act, but sometimes it happens suddenly, with no history of it. Which was really the point of my post.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I don't think I was able to articulate very well what I meant with my post, but I just didn't think it was fair to assume that she was irrational or selfish. Lots of things might have caused this, and it could have been a snap decision. That's all I was trying to say.

 

Of course it's possible she could have had a history too. Topics like this are hard to comment on without some sort of speculation, which I think helps all of us to deal mentally with stories like this that we find tragic. I think it's a natural reaction.

 

Bottom line, we will never know. It's just a tragedy.

 

Geez. I just came on this board for information. And when I found the answers and expressed how I couldn't comprehend the situation, I get bashed for doing so. Come on people, give me a break. This is sad. It's not going to make it any better to take me down verbally. No one understands suicide. I certainly don't. And unfortunately, I've had someone very close to me commit suicide where there were no signs either. But she didn't have kids. I have kids. It's just hard to comprehend. That's all. Sorry if so many of you became offended that I couldn't understand her chosing to do it while on vacation with her kids. I don't see what's so horrible about that.

[sotadragon]

Geez. I just came on this board for information. And when I found the answers and expressed how I couldn't comprehend the situation, I get bashed for doing so. Come on people, give me a break. This is sad. It's not going to make it any better to take me down verbally. No one understands suicide. I certainly don't. And unfortunately, I've had someone very close to me commit suicide where there were no signs either. But she didn't have kids. I have kids. It's just hard to comprehend. That's all. Sorry if so many of you became offended that I couldn't understand her chosing to do it while on vacation with her kids. I don't see what's so horrible about that.

I think what some were offended at was just this, that you are implying she DECIDED to do it consciously and rationally, when NO ONE knows if that's true of if she was in a completely irrational state of mind and really didn't know what she was doing at all.

[Cruisin Kay D]

A few pages back someone reference this link: http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelp...n_overboard.asp

 

Interestingly that list starts Feb 2000 -- we were on Crown Princess around Jan. 24, 2000 on 10 nt cruise Canal round-trip and a male crew member jumped overboard on our day at sea between Grand Cayman and Costa Rica about 9:30 AM. Our ship spent whole day at the spot searching and Coast Guard airplanes flew down to search too. Our ship was released to sail after sunset and at dinner there was several moments of silence by the whole dining room after an announcement from Captn about the young man. He'd only been on ship a few months working in engine room and apparently had some family problems & couldn't get back to Italy or wherever. We were late getting into Costa Rica by 1/2 day. (And of course there were passengers griping about missing excursions!!!) Generally that cruise is referred in our family as "cruise from hell" as my mother got very sick on the ship same day the guy jumped and had to be removed from ship & flown back to FLL -- by time we got to Costa Rica it was raining & foggy & plane could not land, so she was removed in middle of Panama Canal and taken by ambulance to plane over at Panama City!! Besides her, 2 others had to be flown out!!

[two cruisers 723]

I think what some were offended at was just this, that you are implying she DECIDED to do it consciously and rationally, when NO ONE knows if that's true of if she was in a completely irrational state of mind and really didn't know what she was doing at all.

 

I wasn't trying to offend anyone. It seems some people just look for controversy. I choose to walk away now as this is too negative of a thread for me. Maybe I'll see you all you on some different threads where I will be going now to get information about my ucoming cruise Christmas week. And hopefully to help some others out with some info on ports that I've been to that they're looking for info on. Happy cruising to all!

[beavismom]

It is funny how different information is from one story to the next. The Houston Chronicle article said she was there with 2 kids, while the wfaa article got it correct at 3. Of course, the wfaa article makes it sound like the Mexican Navy really wasn't searching with the ship when I saw them with my own two eyes. I still just feel really sorry for the family.

[1corona4u]

I think what some were offended at was just this, that you are implying she DECIDED to do it consciously and rationally, when NO ONE knows if that's true of if she was in a completely irrational state of mind and really didn't know what she was doing at all.

 

Exactly, and I wasn't bashing them. I just stated how I took their post.

[Cybele]

Why someone would go to the trouble to go on a cruise and then commit suicide at the end of it doesn't really make sense. Why not just do the job at home? Unless of course you wanted your demise to be publicized.

I can see how. If your life sucks and you feel trapped with no way out, then you go on a cruise in hopes of improving your mood, it might just drive home how unhappy (and trapped) you feel in your life.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've lived inland for the last 10 years, since I got married, after living very near the sea the first 25 years of my life. When we were on our Elation cruise a couple weeks ago it did not improve my mood and relax me as I (and my hubby) had hoped it would. Near the end of the cruise I just felt bummed that I had to return home to oceanless central Texas. I tried to talk my hubby into moving our family to Florida, which didn't go over very well!

[GoinCruisin]

I personally wish everyone would quit talking as if they were positive this woman DID commit suicide :o Nobody knows this to be fact... right now it is pure speculation and does little to honor this woman or her family.

[deborahjo]

Thank you GoinCruisin I thought I had missed something here. I read everything and all I hear is speculation. Until we know something real we did to not make things worse for the family.

[SouthernCaribbean]

I personally wish everyone would quit talking as if they were positive this woman DID commit suicide :o Nobody knows this to be fact... right now it is pure speculation and does little to honor this woman or her family.

 

FBI said there was no foul play and it wasnt accidental. Im not sure what other options one could arrive at other than she jumped.

 

http://www.herald-coaster.com/articles/2005/06/27/news/news01.txt

[corina27]

They have not said it was suicide.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou050626_gj_cruisemissing.49746edd.html

They have stated that the FBI is no longer looking for her..:(

[GoinCruisin]

To be exact :rolleyes:

 

The FBI said....

 

We had agents on the ship and concluded there was no foul play involved," said Agent Luz Garcia, a spokeswoman for the FBI. "I can't really go into detail out of respect for the family but our feeling that it was not an accident."

 

Sorry, I'm not going to say this woman committed suicide based on a "feeling"... the official report has not come out... anyone can say what they want, but out of respect for this woman and her family, I personally won't be speculating as to how she disappeared.

[derf5585]

They have not said it was suicide.

 

If she is a suicide it can not be proved. No note? Usually no body. There will always be doubt about what is the truth. Life Insurance after suicide? Wait seven years?

[SouthernCaribbean]

To be exact :rolleyes:

 

The FBI said....

 

We had agents on the ship and concluded there was no foul play involved," said Agent Luz Garcia, a spokeswoman for the FBI. "I can't really go into detail out of respect for the family but our feeling that it was not an accident."

 

Sorry, I'm not going to say this woman committed suicide based on a "feeling"... the official report has not come out... anyone can say what they want, but out of respect for this woman and her family, I personally won't be speculating as to how she disappeared.

 

This is what I read

 

Luz Garcia, spokeswoman for the FBI in Houston, said the disappearance of the woman, who has been identified by several media outlets as 40-year-old Vonnie Ales, has been determined not to be the result of foul play or an accidental fall.

 

She said out of respect for the family, including a husband and three teens who were on the trip with her, no other information will be released.

 

Garcia said they were initially investigating the incident as a crime on the high seas, but since talking to the missing woman's husband, ship employees, witnesses and other authorities, they have determined otherwise.

 

What other determination could be drawn??

[GoinCruisin]

Really depends on which article you read... try this one, or any number of the ones out there. No other information has been released, why can't people leave the sleuth work to the sleuths until we know for sure?

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/rssstory.mpl/front/3241194

[SouthernCaribbean]

Really depends on which article you read... try this one, or any number of the ones out there. No other information has been released, why can't people leave the sleuth work to the sleuths until we know for sure?

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/rssstory.mpl/front/3241194

 

I try to read the latest news articles, the article above is over 24 hours old and has a few errors(number of children..etc)

 

This seems to be the latest info, http://www.herald-coaster.com/articles/2005/06/27/news/news01.txt

 

According to this, no other info will be released. FBI is done, Carnival is done and the Family will surely not grant any interviews. Its truly tragic, I had to did with something very similar last year. My heart goes out to them, I know what they must be going through.

 

Just saw this...this one claims the Feds are ruling it a suicide. Im sure the FBI wanted the family to have a chance to tell their loved ones before it was broadcast over the news.

http://www.kbtv4.tv/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=8918

[derf5585]

until we know for sure?

 

Will we ever know for sure? How will we know for sure?

[GoinCruisin]

Will we ever know for sure? How will we know for sure?

 

You are right, we will never know for sure. Until we hear that the reason the FBI is saying this is because they have it on camera, I don't think we can know. Believing the FBI as gospel? No... sorry, seen too many cases that they have screwed up in my life. Suicide is not something to play around with and is going to impact these people for the rest of their lives. Sorry, just a little too close to home maybe... and now that the FBI has stated this, I don't care who says it... if they want to believe it, that is fine... my problem was with the people that were speculating and talking about why she would commit suicide, when that information had not been given yet... just seems a tad disrespectful to me...

[rangerdog]

Oh how sad! I actually have connections to this family. I teach choir at a local high school and I'm friends with the choir teacher from one of our other high schools in the district. She just left my house and said that this lady was one of her students' mother and she was in the booster club. I feel so bad for her husband and these precious kids. She had just left the high school, talking to the principal and counselor, to see what they need to do for the family. Please, please, please keep them in your prayers. Also, out of respect for the family, please don't assume, guess or make up stories about what happened. They are going through enough right now as it is. Please pray!!

[serene56]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1325

 

 

how do people just disappear off a cruise ship?

[DebbieOinKC]

This made our local news here in Missouri last night.