Royal Caribbean cruise passenger presumed dead after going overboard on ‘80s-themed voyage, family says
A woman is believed to be dead after falling overboard on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship on the first day of the '80s-themed voyage near the Bahamas, her family said.
The victim is reportedly Kimberly Burch, the 56-year-old fiancée of Taime Downe, the frontman for the band "Faster Pussycat," Burch's family told Fox News Digital.
Burch's sister-in-law, Kellie Burch, said that Downe called their family to share the devastating news, but said her body had not been recovered yet.
Passengers had watched Downe's band perform less than 90 minutes before Burch went overboard, one passenger, Casey Markee, wrote on X on Tuesday. A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital, but had few details to share.
"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," the statement read. "To respect the privacy of our guest's family, we have no additional details to share."
The incident happened on the first night of the seven-day cruise that set sail from Miami on Sunday, March 2.
"If you love the 80s — the music, the style, the culture, the excitement, the excess — The 80s Cruise delivers non-stop 80s awesomeness and unique, unforgettable moments for The Ultimate 80s Party!" according to a description of the cruise on the company's website.
The cruise planned to include over 50 concerts and live performances as it visited three ports, including Nassau, San Juan and Labadee.
The ship was approximately 20 miles away from Freeport, Bahamas, when the incident occurred, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told Fox News Digital, but said that the Royal Bahamas Defense Force is the lead agency investigating.
The Royal Bahamas Defense Force could not immediately be reached for comment.
The circumstances around how the passenger fell from the ship remain unclear.
"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 11pm PST. Not good," Markee wrote in a post on X on March 2.
Burch's family confirmed to Fox News Digital that they have been given very few details and are "absolutely heartbroken."
"It is with broken hearts that we share the sad news that Kimberly Burch has passed away. She was a beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law and aunt," Kellie Burch wrote in a tribute on her Facebook page.
"She will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved her. We ask for prayers during this time for our family as we try to wrap our minds around this heartbreaking tragedy. We love and miss you Kimberly Burch!!"
Kellie Burch told Fox News Digital that despite speaking to the Coast Guard and Nassau Police, the ship had given their family few details.
"We don't even know if they have started looking again for her after the weather settled down. We have not been able to speak with anyone from the ship," Burch said.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
TikTok influencer slammed for viral video about ‘unchic' fashion
Tara Langdale talked to Fox News Digital about how she received hurtful messages from critics after a not-so-serious fashion post describing what she views as 'unchic' went viral, spawning a cascade of events that made her apolitical post a victim of attacks. The self-described stay-at-home working mom amassed some 250,000 views and found herself on the receiving end of some hate after an April 7 TikTok of her seated, drinking from a wine glass with nicely done hair, gold jewelry and manicured nails as she skimmed through a list of 'unchic' fashion sins. Advertisement Tattoos, Lululemon, baggy denim, camouflage and visible panty lines were just a few that made part one of Langdale's controversial 'unchic' list, which drew backlash from seething critics who called her out with a political twist. 'Voting for Trump is unchic,' one said. 'To her, privilege = chic. Hope this helps!' said another. A third said, 'just say you're a republican and go lmao,' while a slew of commenters took exception to her tattoo stance and ranted about classism. Advertisement The video even caught The Guardian's attention, prompting an article that coined 'chic' as 'a shorthand for a type of conservative-coded aesthetic' and spoke of the 'rigid and airbrushed' looks of Trump allies, sch as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 4 Tara Langdale received backlash for her 'unchic' fashion TikTok. @tara_langdale / TikTok Though Langdale diddles cribe herself as conservative when speaking to Fox News Digital, she insists not everything is about politics. 'When I get dressed in the morning, I'm not thinking about my political party and how I should dress to showcase that,' Langdale said. Advertisement 'I think conservativism is more of culture, religion – all of those things go into your conservativist mindset. Now, if you're talking about conservative style of dress… that's also going to be more like religion and culture,' she went on. 'Of course, if I'm going to church on Sunday, I'm dressing very conservative. I'm going to keep it classy, but if you see me in the street in my regular day-to-day, I am not at all conservative. I would never consider my style to be conservative. But am I conservative? Absolutely, so I can differentiate the two. I know that the internet has a hard time doing that.' 4 Lululemon made Langdale's controversial 'unchic' list — along with baggy denim, camouflage and visible panty lines. REUTERS 4 Tattoos were also on Langdale's list. xartproduction – Langdale addressed the politicized dogma, saying she doesn't understand why TikTok users jumped to conclusions about 'conservative' or 'Republican makeup' as they did. Advertisement 'Because I'm blonde, because I have more of a natural look about me, I'm not fully glammed all the time… I'm really not sure how that makes me appear conservative, but, again, I just think when people don't agree with what you say, they have to find a way to discredit you, and that's just an easy tactic,' she continued. At the same time, Langdale pushed back against the idea of her video implying that people too poor to afford expensive items are automatically 'unchic,' and pointed to brand-name items like athletic apparel brand Lululemon, Apple Watches and Golden Goose sneakers – all of which can be pricey – as evidence pointing to the contrary. 'Just keep in mind that money talks and wealth whispers, and I don't know any wealthy people that are wearing Gucci across their chest,' she said in her original post. Langdale explained that the TikTok trend of users showcasing 'things I find incredibly chic' grabbed her attention as they began circulating on the app. She found them 'pretentious and off-putting,' so she felt compelled to take her own stab at the video. 4 'When I get dressed in the morning, I'm not thinking about my political party and how I should dress to showcase that,' Langdale said about the political criticism she received. @tara_langdale / TikTok 'Of course, my video came off as pretentious and off-putting as well, but it felt like a certain level of cringe for me, and I don't like to personally attack anybody on social media, so I wouldn't go after a specific creator. I just kind of wanted to hop on the trend… so that was my initial, 'Why I created the video.'' Advertisement Langdale shared that her direct messages on the platform have been 'insane' with threats and comments about her family since the video went viral. 'It does make you step back and take a pause,' she shared. 'Like, is this really worth it for how crazy people react? And I would never want to put my family in danger, but I think a lot of it is just the keyboard pirates that are just back there behind their computer typing whatever they can to try to get more likes in the comments,' Langdale added.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: 'Iceberg is ahead'
FIRST ON FOX: A House committee witness who was called out by Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California during a hearing this week is pushing back after the congressman unearthed a past social media post on Social Security in an attempt to discredit his testimony. During a House oversight DOGE subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Garcia grilled Power the Future CEO Dan Turner while holding up a posterboard of a past tweet calling Social Security a "government-sponsored Ponzi scheme." "Madoff went to jail for it. Congress runs on it," the post said. "I should be able to keep 100% of my money and not watch government waste it with a paltry percentage return." Garcia then suggested that post was evidence that Turner lacks the credibility to be testifying about the billions of federal tax dollars directed to left-wing NGOs. Social Security Commissioner Breaks Down Plan To Save Agency From Insolvency "A Ponzi scheme and so I think it's interesting, of course, as one of our Republican witnesses is calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and that's the person that we should be taking advice from here today," Garcia said. Read On The Fox News App "Without Social Security, 22 million people would be pushed into poverty. That includes over 16 million seniors and nearly 1 million children. And in fact, Elon Musk has also said and agreed with you, sir, that this is a Ponzi scheme. I think it's ironic that you are one of our witnesses talking about efficiency when you want to attack the single best program that we have to support people not just out of poverty, but across this country to uplift them, to ensure they can afford a decent life." Fox News Digital spoke to Turner, who stood by his post and outlined his belief, echoed by many, that Social Security is structured like a Ponzi scheme by definition. Sen Elizabeth Warren: Social Security Is Under Attack. Gutting It Is A Broken Promise "Rep Garcia does not know the definition of Ponzi scheme," Turner said. "Social Security is the ultimate Ponzi, demanding more and more people at the bottom pay in to fund the people at the top, expect our demographics have this now reversed. The system will default. Mr. Garcia nor I will likely never see a dime. That should worry him more than my social media feed." Turner told Fox News Digital that if Garcia's staff were to spend as much time trying to save Social Security as it did "combing through my social media" then "perhaps the Ponzi scheme can survive long enough for me to get a small percentage of what the government confiscated during my lifetime." Turner explained that his father had received a "paltry percentage" of what he paid into the program and the the government "kept the rest" when his father died. "That's not just a Ponzi scheme, it's government greed and politicians running a money-laundering operation to get reelected. No one should be compelled to pay into a failed system, yet in a free America, you don't have that choice." In addition to Turner and Elon Musk suggesting that Social Security is by definition set up like a Ponzi scheme, Fox News Digital previously spoke to James Agresti, president of the nonprofit research institute Just Facts, who said the characterization has "validity." 'Failure's Not An Option': Trump Budget Bill Will Be 'Big' Help For Seniors, Top House Tax-writer Says "A Ponzi scheme operates by taking money from new investors to pay current investors," Agresti said. "That's the definition given by the SEC, and contrary to popular belief, that's exactly how Social Security operates." Agresti explained to Fox News Digital that Social Security, a program mired for decades with concerns about waste, fraud, and improper payments, "doesn't take our money and save it for us, as many people believe, and then give it to us when we're older" like many Americans might believe. "What it does is, it transfers money when we are young and working and paying into Social Security taxes," Agresti said. "That money, the vast bulk of it, goes immediately out the door to people who are currently receiving benefits. Now, there is a trust fund, but in 90 years of operation, that trust fund currently has enough money to fund two years of program operations." The trust fund only being able to last for two years is not a result of the fund being "looted," Agresti explained, but rather it was put in place to "put surpluses in it" from money that Social Security collects in taxes that it doesn't pay out immediately and pays interest on. "The interest that's been paid on that has been higher than the rate of inflation," Agresti said. "So, the problem isn't that the trust fund has been looted. The problem is that Social Security operates like a Ponzi scheme." Democrats have vocally pushed back against efforts by Republicans and DOGE to reform Social Security or make cuts to what they say are examples of wasteful or improper spending from the department. "There's been a lot of misinformation about that as of late," Agresti told Fox News Digital. "You know, when DOGE came in and suggested that the Social Security Administration cut, I think it was about 10,000 workers, Democrats erupted that this is going to weaken Social Security. But the fact of the matter is that Social Security pays those workers who are for administrative overhead from the Social Security trust fund. So, by cutting out the money that they're paying them, you actually strengthen the program financially." Agresti told Fox News Digital that the current administrative overhead for Social Security is $6.7 billion per year, which is enough to pay more than 300,000 retirees the average old-age benefit. "Every single study shows social security going completely bankrupt in the next few years. Garcia and other democrats know the iceberg is ahead but rather than turn the ship, they are yelling at the iceberg about the senior citizens onboard," Turner said. "This Ponzi scheme is collapsing fast, and turning my tweets into posters is not going to stop it."Original article source: House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: 'Iceberg is ahead'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mother sensed 'strong danger' from son-in-law weeks before daughter's murder during camping trip
Joseph Ferlazzo had abruptly returned without his wife from what was supposed to be a Vermont camping trip to mark their first wedding anniversary. The 41-year-old told his in-laws that he had gotten into an argument with his spouse, Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo, 22, and that she had headed back home to New Hampshire. Emily's mother and stepfather weren't buying it. New Hampshire Man Pleads Not Guilty To Killing His Wife After Body Found Dismembered "When he handed me her license, that was very strange," her mother, Adrienne Bass, told Fox News Digital. "I interpreted his shivering and shaking as if he'd been cold because he was riding his motorcycle from Vermont to New Hampshire. It was a three-hour drive in the middle of October. But thinking back on it now, I think he was probably having anxiety lying to our faces. . . . And when he left, his whole demeanor was threatening and cold. The feeling I got was, 'Don't question him.'" Read On The Fox News App The case is being explored on Investigation Discovery's (ID) true crime series, "Fatal Destination," which is executive-produced and narrated by Jessica Biel. It profiles stories where "idyllic getaways unravel into haunting mysteries." It features interviews with friends, family, locals and law enforcement, among others. In the episode titled "Where's Emily?" Bass said "We were all afraid of him," referring to Ferlazzo. She told Fox News Digital that the family suspected Ferlazzo had been abusing his wife behind closed doors. "Emily would come to us asking for help, and then she'd go back to him, and it would backfire and cause more problems," said Bass. ". . . The weekend before they left, I had feelings, senses that there was something wrong with him. I didn't like their relationship, or how it was going. I felt, as a mom, my daughter was not safe." "The weekend before they went away, we were sitting at a restaurant having lunch with them to celebrate their anniversary," Bass added. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X "I can't describe his behaviors or his mannerisms, but I froze. There was a very strong, overwhelming feeling that my life was in danger from him. I tried to figure out how to talk to her about it before they left. But I wasn't ever able to come up with a way that I could talk to my daughter, who's loyal to her husband, and say, 'Hey, I think he's dangerous.'" "I wasn't correct that it was my life that was in danger – it was my daughter's," Bass said. "But I could sense a strong danger from him." Ferlazzo, a tattoo artist, married Emily, a nurse, during the pandemic. Bass admitted that she had been perplexed that the couple had said, "I do." "Part of the reason we were surprised that they got married was because they seemed to be going back and forth… She had difficulty talking to him about when they were going to get married," Bass said. "And then on New Year's Eve, they had a physical altercation," Bass said. "She reached out to me asking for support. He would accuse her of cheating, and she would feel exasperated and confused about how to help him believe her." The family said that after the couple married, they witnessed bruising and "physical injuries" on Emily's body. According to the episode, Emily blamed her injuries on "rough sex." Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter "It put us in an awkward situation," David Bass, Emily's stepfather, told Fox News Digital. "If we tried to talk to her about getting help or getting out, she would immediately tell him everything that was said. . . . We had to sort of not talk to her about things out of fear of making things worse. We had to be careful about what we said [with] very coded language." "She didn't want to talk about the bruising," Adrienne Bass reflected. "I think [months before their trip], Emily filled out paperwork for a divorce. He ended up doing it at the same time. . . . I don't know all the details, but there were moments where things happened that I feel she wasn't even really sure what happened." Things looked hopeful on Oct. 15, 2021. That day, the couple drove on a converted bus that was also their home, where they lived on the parents' property, Rolling Stone reported. According to the outlet, they traveled a little more than two hours to Bolton, Vermont, a rural town in the picturesque western foothills of the Green Mountains, 30 miles east of Burlington and the shores of Lake Champlain. Nearby, Ferlazzo's sister and her boyfriend had rented an Airbnb. Emily sent videos of what appeared to be a scenic drive to her family. But on Oct. 18, Ferlazzo had returned home without Emily. According to Ferlazzo, he restrained her when she tried to leave during their argument, but she kicked him in the groin. He went on to tell Emily's parents that after the fight, he had left to go to the store. That's when Emily vanished, he insisted. Adrienne and David Bass reported Emily missing. They told police there was a history of domestic violence and Emily had been seen with scratches and bruises. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub Adrienne Bass was hopeful that her daughter had managed to finally escape her tumultuous marriage without telling anyone. That hope quickly faded. "As soon as he left, I realized there were only three things that could have happened," said Bass. "One, she'd been abducted. Another, she lost her memory for some bizarre reason. Or, she's no longer alive." "I finally let it out," she said. "I cried and just let the moment hit me." Prosecutor Sarah George later said that because Gabby Petito's investigation had just happened, police were quicker to investigate Ferlazzo, reported. Like Emily, Petito's case started as a search for a missing person after her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, returned from a road trip in a converted van without her. A police video showing Petito crying after a physical altercation with Laundrie raised questions about domestic violence. Petito, 22, was found strangled to death near a Wyoming campground site weeks later. Laundrie was a person of interest. After he went missing for over a month, his remains were found in a Florida park that October. With the police closing in, Ferlazzo confessed. Ferlazzo told investigators he and his wife had been arguing inside their camper, and it turned into a physical altercation. A few minutes later, he took out a handgun and shot her twice in the head, according to the affidavit. The following morning, Ferlazzo said he took the camper from Bolton to a friend's house in St. Albans. About 12 to 15 hours after the shooting, he dismembered Emily and placed her remains in garbage bags, which stayed in the camper and were found by police. The weapons believed to have been used in the killing were also retrieved by investigators. Fighting back tears, Adrienne Bass said it was "excruciating and nauseating" listening to the horrifying details in court. A jury convicted Ferlazzo of first-degree murder in December, reported. In April, a judge sentenced him to 42.5 years to life in prison. Emily's family has been trying to heal. They take comfort in listening to recordings of Emily singing. Music was her true love. "Emily would want to be known as a singer," said David Bass. "She loved singing. She loved performing. Her voice is the most important thing. She would be incredibly upset at what had happened to her and Gabby Petito." Today, Adrienne Bass hopes that in sharing her daughter's story, victims will be compelled to seek help before it's too late. "Try to listen to your gut," she said. "If they don't feel it's safe to get out, wait until they find the time to try to find someone that they can trust to confide in. It doesn't matter how old you are. . . . Anyone could be a victim of domestic violence. It doesn't mean something is wrong with them as a person." "If you're being abused in your relationship, call a crisis center, make a plan, talk to an expert," urged David Bass. "Help is out there. You're not alone."Original article source: Mother sensed 'strong danger' from son-in-law weeks before daughter's murder during camping trip
