80s Rocker's Fiancée Dies After Falling From Cruise Ship Balcony Amid Heated Argument
Kimberly Burch reportedly fell "from a room balcony" on March 2, the very first night of the seven-day cruise, following an alleged "heated" argument with the 60-year-old rocker.
A US Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed the incident occurred roughly 20 miles from Freeport, Bahamas.
The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter crew and other personnel to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in their search. Unfortunately, the search was later suspended, and Burch's body has not been recovered.
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson told Daily Mail:
"Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest's family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest's family, we have no additional details to share.
Eyewitnesses described a tense atmosphere on board. One passenger told The Hollywood Reporter:
"There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person. [The] ship was stopped for a few hours. Safety boats were deployed with floodlights to illuminate the surrounding area. Another cruise ship nearby had its floodlights on searching as well. My wife spoke with some people on one of the decks saying they heard that it was a woman and it was caught on camera. Can't confirm though.
Eventually the ship powered up and off we went. This morning a PA announcement said that the US Coast Guard had taken over the search. We arrived at Nassau, Bahamas a few hours behind schedule. No excursions were canceled. Haven't heard anything since."
The cruise, which departed from Miami, was scheduled to visit Nassau, San Juan, and Labadee.
Burch had traveled on the cruise to support Downe, who was scheduled to perform with his band during the nostalgic event. The couple, who had been in a relationship for around five or six years, appeared to be enjoying the trip prior to the tragedy.
Just hours before her fall, Burch shared a photo of herself and Downe on social media, writing, "We made it to @the80scruise."
Kimberly Burch's mother, Carnell Burch, shared with TMZ that Taime Downe called her on Monday to inform her of Kimberly's death. According to Carnell, it remains "still unclear" whether Kimberly "jumped or accidentally fell" from the cruise ship, though she is "confident Kimberly would not purposefully hurt herself."
Carnell noted that Kimberly had been drinking on the cruise, which she described as "out of character for her." She also mentioned that her daughter had an argument with Taime before the tragic incident. Despite this, Carnell emphasized that Kimberly was not experiencing depression or emotional issues and had been looking forward to the trip, which had only just begun.
The incident occurred around 11 p.m. EST on the first night of the cruise, approximately 80 miles from Miami.
According to a passenger on X, formerly Twitter, Kimberly "jumped from the balcony of her 8th-floor room" following an argument with her partner.
The passenger wrote, 'Currently on the #RCL Explorer of the Seas for the #80scruise. Unfortunately, we have a 'woman overboard' situation and boats have been deployed. We are currently 80+ miles from Miami at 11 p.m. PST. Not good.'
They continued, 'It looks like the woman 'jumped' from the balcony of her 8th floor room after an argument with her partner. This is our 15th cruise, and the first time we've actually experienced this. Clearly, the priority is recovering the woman. And the boat has turned around and is at a dead stop. They have deployed boats for the search. Could be a long night..."
Despite the immediate efforts of the ship's crew and support from nearby vessels, the search for Burch was called off. Neither Taime Downe nor his representatives have released a statement regarding the incident.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Burch's fall continues, with authorities examining reports of an argument between the couple prior to the tragedy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Royal Caribbean picks new ship godmother after Diana Ross bails
Royal Caribbean picks new ship godmother after Diana Ross bails originally appeared on TravelHost. Just a few days after music icon Diana Ross backed out of her role as godmother to Royal Caribbean's new Icon Class ship, Star of the Seas, the cruise line announced a fitting replacement for the honor. As Ross canceled her planned appearance at Star of the Seas' naming ceremony and showcase sailing on Aug. 20 citing unforeseen circumstances, Royal Caribbean scrambled to find a suitable new godmother for the revolutionary ship with just days to go before the big event.A cruise ship godmother is a meaningful role that's steeped in maritime tradition. During the ship's naming ceremony, the godmother participates in an iconic moment — christening the vessel by breaking a bottle of Champagne over its bow. The ceremonial act symbolically launches the ship with a blessing of good fortune and protection for all who sail on her. Historically, the honorary title of cruise ship godmother has been given to influential women from royalty, Hollywood icons, and pop stars to legendary athletes and famous activists. While many might have expected another music superstar to take the stage at Star of the Seas' naming ceremony as Ross bowed out, Royal Caribbean executives went in a different direction, drawing inspiration from the stars in the sky as they picked Star of the Seas' new Kellie Gerardi named godmother of Star of the Seas Astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who inspires millions of followers on social media, will now serve as godmother for Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas. 'She's visited the stars, and now she's the Godmother of one. Research astronaut, payload specialist and mom Kellie Gerardi will join us to officially name and celebrate Star of the Seas, its crew, and the millions who will make memories on the world's best family vacation for years to come,' Royal Caribbean announced in a social media post on Aug. 15. The 90th woman in history to visit space, Gerardi is also one of the world's first payload specialists to fly on a commercial spacecraft. One of USA Today's 2025 Women of the Year, Gerardi inspires girls to learn about space and shoot for the stars. She's a mom to daughter Delta V and author of the children's book series Luna Royal Caribbean fans applauded the cruise line for pivoting to pick a godmother worthy of out-of-this-world family vacations. 'Now this is a godmother. Someone the kids can look up to,' Cheryl Fields Rose commented on Royal Caribbean's Facebook post about Gerardi. 'This is a great pivot. Love seeing women in science too! Such a great role model,' Amy Krieger of the Seas offers family vacations from the Space Coast Gerardi is from Jupiter, Florida, not far from the Space Coast and Port Canaveral, where Star of the Seas will launch its inaugural season of seven-night Caribbean cruises with stops to Royal Caribbean's popular Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas. Star of the Seas is designed for family memory-making, offering adventures for all ages and vacation styles on one of the world's largest and most advanced cruise ships. The new ship promises a balance of both exhilarating and relaxing vacation experiences across eight neighborhoods, from thrilling drops down Category 6 waterpark's six waterslides to plenty of space to chill across seven pools. Families can enjoy more than 40 food and beverage venues, including new Chicago-inspired Lincoln Park Supper of the Seas will offer an all-day entertainment lineup to keep families on the edge of their seats throughout their sailings. The show-stopping new ship will feature five signature shows across stage, air, water, and ice, including an electrifying ride through time with 'Back to the Future: The Musical.' (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) , or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472. This story was originally reported by TravelHost on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Google's AI pointed him to a customer service number. It was a scam.
Alex Rivlin was tackling a last-minute task for his European vacation. That's how he got snagged in an artificial intelligence-enabled scam. Rivlin, who runs a real estate company in Las Vegas, needed to book a shuttle to catch a cruise ship. From his kitchen table, he searched Google for the cruise company's customer service number, chatted with a knowledgeable representative and provided his credit card details. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Rivlin said that the number he called was highlighted in Google's 'AI Overviews' - AI-generated responses to some web searches. The next day, Rivlin saw fishy credit card charges and realized that he'd been fooled by an impostor for Royal Caribbean customer service. He'd encountered an apparent AI twist on a classic scam targeting travelers and others searching Google for customer help lines of airlines and other businesses. I found the same number he called appearing to impersonate other cruise company hotlines and popping up in Google and ChatGPT. Welcome to the AI scam era. Experts warn that old scammer and spammer tricks that have swamped the web, social media, email and texts are now also manipulating AI information - and Rivlin is among an early wave of victims. 'I'm pretty technologically advanced, and I fell for this,' said the founder of the Rivlin Group at lpt Realty. I'll walk you through how to guard against experiences like Rivlin's, and what companies such as Google should do to stop crooks from warping AI information. - - - How scammers fooled Rivlin and Google Rivlin told me that the bogus customer service number and the impostor representative were believable. The rep knew the cost and pickup locations for Royal Caribbean shuttles in Venice. He had persuasive explanations when Rivlin questioned him about paying certain fees and gratuities. The rep offered to waive the shuttle fees and Rivlin agreed to pay $768. Rivlin said that he was suspicious of oddities, including an unfamiliar company name that came through on the credit card charge. When two bogus card charges landed the next day, Rivlin knew he'd been tricked. He canceled his credit card and the charges were reversed. Rivlin mostly blames the crooks and himself for falling for the scam. But I've seen so many versions of similar trickery targeting Google users that I largely blame the company for not doing enough to safeguard its essential gateway to information. So did two experts in Google's inner workings. Here's how a scam like this typically works: Bad guys write on online review sites, message boards and other websites claiming that a number they control belongs to a company's customer service center. When you search Google, its technology looks for clues to relevant and credible information, including online advice. If scammer-controlled numbers are repeated as truth often enough online, Google may suggest them to people searching for a business. Google is a patsy for scammers - and we're the ultimate victims. Google's AI Overviews and OpenAI's ChatGPT may use similar clues as Google's search engine to spit out information gleaned from the web. That makes them new AI patsies for the old impostor number scams. 'Manipulating these new answer engines using techniques from 30 years ago is like shooting sitting ducks,' said Mike Blumenthal, analyst at Near Media, a consumer search behavior research company. (Blumenthal told me about Rivlin's Facebook video relaying his experience.) Blumenthal and I found Google and ChatGPT identifying the same number that fooled Rivlin as a customer service number for other cruise lines, including Disney and Carnival's Princess line. In a statement, a Google spokesman said that AI Overviews and web search results are effective at directing people to official customer service information for common types of searches. The spokesman said that the company has 'taken action' on several impostor number examples I identified and that Google continues to 'work on broader improvements to address rarer queries like these.' Royal Caribbean's customer service number is 1-866-562-7625, which the company says it shows on its websites, apps and invoices. Disney and Princess didn't respond to my questions. OpenAI said that many of the webpages that ChatGPT referenced with the bogus cruise number appear to have been removed, and that it can take time for its information to update 'after abusive content is removed at the source.' (The Washington Post has a content partnership with OpenAI.) - - - What you and companies can do to ward off this scam - Be suspicious of phone numbers in Google results or in chatbots. Rivlin said that he looked for Royal Caribbean's customer service contact number in its app. No luck. Google or chatbots are natural next spots to look for business numbers, but it's worth being extremely careful of numbers they show. Eyeball associated links in Google or ChatGPT before you call. Read more advice on fake customer service scams. - Why is Google making it easier for scammers? The company knows the long history of people being fooled by bogus customer service numbers they find in search results. You'd be safer if Google didn't show AI Overviews - which seem like authoritative 'answers' - for business number searches, said Lily Ray, vice president of search engine optimization strategy and research at the marketing firm Amsive. 'By allowing AI Overviews to appear for business phone number queries, they're opening up a new opportunity for scammers - and one that scammers are clearly already using to their advantage,' Ray said by email. Ray and Blumenthal say that Google has databases of vetted information, including for businesses, and that the company should ensure search and AI results only grab information from there. Back home this week after a great trip, Rivlin said that he's watching for more bogus charges or attempted identity theft. And Rivlin wants to spread the word that even being well informed about scams and a believer in AI didn't make him immune to AI-enabled trickery. 'I can't believe that I fell for it,' he said. 'Be careful.' Related Content Ukraine scrambles to roll back Russian eastern advance as summit takes place Her dogs kept dying, and she got cancer. Then they tested her water. D.C.'s homeless begin to see the effects of Trump's crackdown Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
3 days ago
- Fox News
Brother of woman who vanished from cruise 27 years ago reveals critical third witness
The brother of the missing woman featured in the hit Netflix docuseries "Amy Bradley is Missing" spoke with Fox News Digital to disclose further information in the case that was not discussed on the show. Amy Bradley has been missing for 27 years since she vanished from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas just before it docked in Curaçao on a March 1998 vacation. The documentary sheds light on Bradley's case - from the circumstances of her disappearance, to witness sightings, to her family's grueling decadeslong quest for answers about what exactly happened to her. The series focuses heavily on Alister "Yellow" Douglas, referred to only as Yellow by those familiar with the case, who was the bassist in the cruise ship's band and is the Bradley family's top suspect in her disappearance. On the night of March 23, 1998, Amy and her brother, Brad Bradley, stayed up late partying aboard the ship. Amy was seen dancing with Yellow, who had taken a keen interest in her, in the Blue Orchid Lounge, a dance club on the ship's upper deck. Around 3:35 a.m. on the morning of March 24, Brad returned to the family's cabin to relax, followed shortly thereafter by Amy, who retired to the room only about five minutes later. The pair spent time on the balcony of their room, smoking cigarettes and talking until Brad went to bed. At 5:30 a.m., Ron Bradley, Amy and Brad's father, woke up and saw Amy asleep in a lounge chair on the balcony. The balcony door was closed. Around a half-hour later, Ron checked on Amy again, but she was gone. The balcony door was slightly ajar and her shoes and the yellow shirt she had been wearing were still inside the room. The Bradley's then started a frantic search for Amy, alerting the ship's crew that she was missing. Royal Caribbean said all the rooms and public spaces on the ship were checked, but Amy was not found. The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard searched for Amy for four days to no avail, and the FBI was dispatched to investigate. "Let me preface by saying we are forever grateful to Ari Mark and Phil Lott," Brad Bradley told Fox News Digital, referring to the film's producers and directors. "The producers did an amazing job. We're very happy with the show and how much attention it's garnered around the world. I mean, I've said on many interviews, it has literally single-handedly revitalized [Amy's] name around the word." When asked what he wished to convey that was not seen in the documentary, Brad immediately honed in on the FBI's investigation, or in his view, the lack thereof. "Making people understand, in my opinion, the failure of the FBI in our case to do their due diligence to investigate the case properly and thoroughly," he said when asked what he wishes more people knew about the case. Brad said that the FBI immediately dropped the ball on the investigation, beginning with the most basic investigative procedure: establishing a timeline of the disappearance. Just before 6:00 a.m. on March 24, two women named Lori and Crystal, who were sitting on the deck of the ship, watched Amy and Yellow ride a glass elevator up to the Blue Orchid Lounge. That was around the time Ron noticed Amy was missing from the ship. They reported seeing Amy with a camera, and Yellow handing her a brown drink. Soon after, the women said, Yellow briskly walked past them alone. They were two of the last witnesses to see Amy alive. They returned to their room just a bit later and were let in by one of the girls' mothers. Since they did not use a key to get into the room, there was no certain way to know exactly what time they entered, which is critical to piecing together when exactly Amy disappeared. "On the Netflix series, you'll hear the agent from the FBI say, 'unfortunately, we weren't able to corroborate their timeframe,' essentially in kind of a dismissive way," Brad said. "But we found and have, through even very recent conversations in the past week, my mom has spoken with the mother of one of the two girls who let them into their room just after 6 a.m. … and the FBI never questioned her on the boat, and they never have questioned her to this day. They never interviewed her," he continued. "And again, after speaking with the mother the other day, she remains adamant that she let them in just after 6 a.m., and they were out at the time they said they were," Brad said. Also, Brad continued, there was a third witness, who was not mentioned in the documentary, around the 6:00 a.m. timeframe to see Amy. The third witness, named Elizabeth, later testified before a grand jury that she saw Amy and Yellow in the lounge and watched Yellow make Amy a brown drink. She said she then watched the pair move out of her line of sight, according to Brad. Then, according to Brad, she testified to a shocking detail that has not widely been made public. "And then she says a young girl about 18 or 19 years old, she suspected … comes out of the back yelling 'senorita kidnap,' 'senorita kidnap,' more than one time," Brad said. The Bradleys are currently attempting to locate Elizabeth in hopes of gathering more information. Further, Yellow approached Brad at about 7:30 a.m. as he sat on the deck of the ship. Brad was dejected as the immediate search for Amy was unsuccessful. He says that Yellow apologized to him about his missing sister, before any public announcement had been made about Amy's disappearance. "I don't know, but I think [Yellow] went and handed [Amy] off to somebody who took her down into the crew quarters," Brad said, positing a theory about the disappearance. "The two girls that, on the outside, that saw him go up the elevator with her, said that he came down some minutes later by himself and walked directly past them, never looked at him, when he'd been trying to holler at them previously." Over the years, there have been several sightings of a woman believed to be Amy. Tourist Judy Maurer said in the documentary that she witnessed a woman she believed to be Amy while in a public restroom in Barbados, before three men allegedly escorted the woman away. David Carmichael, a Canadian diver, also said in the docuseries that he may have seen Bradley while visiting Curaçao, adding that she was "flanked by two people," one of whom he suspected was "Yellow." Another Curaçao sighting was reported by Navy veteran Bill Hefner, who believes he saw a distressed Bradley at a taboo local bar, but did not report it because of fear of reprisal from his military superiors. From 2002 until 2008, risqué photos bearing a striking resemblance to Amy surfaced on the website of what appears to be a now-defunct Venezuelan tourist escort resort, according to a blog dedicated to finding Amy. Those photos were featured in the docuseries. Other theories have also been posited about her disappearance, mainly that she either fell off the balcony accidentally or jumped off intentionally. The Bradley family vehemently denies either of those explanations. In his heart of hearts, Brad knows Amy is still alive, and so does the rest of the Bradley family. "My parents and I have shared kind of an unexplainable gut feeling in this sense that she's still out there, and I don't know how to better explain that to people or make it more relatable, because it's an unrelatable kind of thing," Brad said. "People just don't understand how we could possibly feel like that, and I can't really explain it, but we do, we've all shared it, we've never talked about her in the past tense." Royal Caribbean did not return a comment request. Neither did Yellow. The FBI declined to comment.
