The family of an Irish man who was seen jumping from a balcony on Royal Caribbean's 'Allure of the Seas' last week is reaching out to the public for information, and to help bring closure. 30 year old Kenneth John Gemmell, was a native of Bailieborough, Co Cavan, Ireland.
UPDATE: Family speaks out in an updated story here.
The ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico when Gemmell was last seen by a witness leaping from his balcony. The captain alerted local authorities of the situation, and a 72 hour coast guard search began. The witness claimed that Gemmell appeared to jump on his own, a fact that Royal Caribbean says their closed circuit camera video supported.
Gemmell was an air steward with UAE airlines and was stationed in Dubai.
His family back in Ireland is devastated by his loss, and now they're trying to put the pieces together as to what happened during the course of the cruise.
They are issuing an appeal to anyone on board the ship who might have met Kenneth during the cruise, to touch base with them. And they particularly would like to hear from the person who witnessed him going overboard. The family has said they want nothing more than to understand what drove their son, who had just turned 30 last Tuesday, to this.
The family says that some information has already come their way. One party told them that Kenneth may have been arguing with a ship's crew member (perhaps a bartender) in one of the bars late Thursday night or early Friday morning. They were also told that the crew member, a man they understood was sharing a room with a Canadian citizen, left the ship in Cozumel.
Because of the lack of information, a family spokesman told examiner.com that some members of the family are finding it hard to accept that Kenneth actually went overboard.
Anyone who has information on this tragedy is asked to email Michael at michael@mhynes.com. The family says they just want to know what happened to their son.
With approximately 5,000 people on board 'Allure of the Seas' last Thursday night/Friday morning, someone out there may be able to help bring peace to Kenneth Gemmell's family.
Subscribe to my daily Cruise updates, and share these reports through social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Google +. Follow me on Twitter - @BigBlueMan (personal) or @TheCruisePaper (cruise info only).
Comments