Rebecca Coriam's Family Meets Investigators At Disney Cruise Ship

LOS ANGELES — Family members of a 24-year-old British employee reported missing from a Disney cruise ship last week met with investigators Sunday after the vessel returned to its home port in Los Angeles.

Rebecca Coriam, whose hometown is Chester, England, was reported missing at sea Tuesday after she failed to report for a scheduled shift on the Disney Wonder. The ship was on a seven-day cruise along the western coast of Mexico.

Her mother, Ann Coriam, told KABC-TV that "we just don't know what happened to her, do we? And that's just the worst. We've got to find out what happened."

Davies said officials on board told the family that Coriam made a phone call from the ship shortly before being reported missing.

"They say they know what the conversation was but they're not telling us," her cousin, Trish Davies, told the station prior to the meeting with investigators Sunday. "They say they've got to wait for the investigation."

It was not immediately clear what new information, if any, investigators gave the family Sunday. The ship was scheduled to leave again for Mexico on Sunday night.

Because the Disney Wonder is registered in the Bahamas, police there were handling the investigation. The Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard also were involved.

Disney Cruise Line representatives issued a statement, pledging to assist all of the appropriate authorities, and saying they have searched the entire ship multiple times, most recently on Saturday.

"We have been doing everything possible to find Rebecca Coriam," Christi Erwin Donnan, a spokeswoman for Disney, said. "Rebecca's disappearance has been difficult for everyone at Disney Cruise Line. We've been in close contact with the Coriam family, and we're assisting them in any way we can."

Returning passengers said they were told during the cruise Coriam was missing, and were asked to keep an eye out for her.

"They announced it over the airwaves and they said that there was a missing crew member, can you please help look for the person," passenger Ron Uyen told KCBS-TV after getting off the Wonder. "It was scary. You watch your kids a little closer."

The 1,000-foot-long Disney Wonder carries 2,500 passengers and 1,000 crew members.

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Information from: KABC-TV, http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/

Comments

[GLEE1216]

08:19 PM on 03/30/2011

Well for me the worst part is that I went on that cruise and she was one of my youth activities person so i actually knew her and she was one of my favorite youth activities person. Rebecca I hope you are okay and i feel very bad for your family.

[forte88]

07:58 PM on 03/28/2011

I would really hope that these cruise lines would have security cameras with time and date stamps of all edges of the ship. Nothing should be able to jump or get thrown off of a ship without being put on camera. It's only common sense.

[verylargehat]

06:17 PM on 03/28/2011

I really feel for this family. This is just awful.

[snippylee]

04:37 PM on 03/28/2011

So sorry for the family.

[LindyK]

12:47 PM on 03/28/2011

Ppl keep talking about lifeboats. You go over on one of those big cruise lines, you're so high up and they're traveling at such a speed, I don't believe a lifeboat would do you any good. I was on one once, and the captain gave us a tour of the engine room. I asked about this very thing and he implied rescue was near impossible.

Things may have changed since then, though.

[AllieGoogle]

01:42 PM on 03/28/2011

IF someone sees you go over and sounds the alarm - a ship like that takes miles to come to a halt. And that is if you survive the fall.

[rezna]

12:30 PM on 03/28/2011

Turns out a crew member went missing from the exact cruise ship I was on two months ago. That sure puts things in perspective.

[GLEE1216]

08:25 PM on 03/30/2011

what cruise ship and disney didnt have a person missing 2 months ago and how does it put it in perspective and third what cruise ship cause im pretty sure it wasnt disney

[virgil19]

12:15 PM on 03/28/2011

Cruises are shady. I'd rather go to the beach any day.

[AllieGoogle]

01:42 PM on 03/28/2011

Bet more people have disappeared from or drowned at the beach than cruises.

[expanse]

11:00 AM on 03/28/2011

I go on cruises a lot. They are a blast but it is scary when you realize how easy it is to "disappear" on them. If I go on an excursion not offered by the cruise line, I always go with a large group. Never do anything by youself or with a small group in these foreign places.

[shanghaislim]

11:51 AM on 03/28/2011

Sex?

:-)

You're last line is classic.

[Paros]

09:08 AM on 03/28/2011

double talk makes my stomach turn every time.
A spokeswoman for Disney said, "We've been in close contact with the Coriam family, and we're assisting them in any way we can."
AND
Davies (the missing girl's cousin) said officials on board told the family that Coriam made a phone call from the ship shortly before being reported missing."They say they know what the conversation was but they're not telling us,"

Can't have it both ways Disney.

[MMRDO]

10:13 AM on 03/28/2011

Only the cops can release that.

[AllieGoogle]

01:43 PM on 03/28/2011

Yes they can - the obviously brought the family here - they can't disobey cops when they tell them to not release info.

[Paros]

12:32 PM on 03/30/2011

I would like to learn more:
What is your source for learning that Disney brought the family to the docks and
how do you know that the police told them not to release information?

[KennebunkportIndependent]

09:06 AM on 03/28/2011

There have been a lot of crew and passengers falling  overboard in recent  years.  What is going on on these ships?


Carnival (the 'party' cruise line) is way out there in the lead.


http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

[mikey09]

09:28 AM on 03/28/2011

Its always been this way, just reported now....like campus attacks on women, always happened, just never reported.

[KIVPossum]

10:25 AM on 03/28/2011

Have there been a 'lot'? You have dozens of ships, carrying thousands of people. Your chart shows 157 overboard people in 10 years. What city of 100,000 doesn't have 150 murders/suicides in a ten year period?

[LilPuppy]

11:26 AM on 03/28/2011

a Canadian city

[LilPuppy]

11:27 AM on 03/28/2011

^^^^^^ bad attempt at humour :)

[JTWallace]

08:52 AM on 03/28/2011

There are too many deaths aboard these cruise shipsand it's mostly women. Why aren't there better "public cameras" aboard and I don't mean in each cabin. But something is being overlooked by not having better surveilance.

[adamben]

10:29 AM on 03/28/2011

very good point.

[Sneedsnood]

11:35 AM on 03/28/2011

It would cost a lot of money to install surveillance cameras on every "luxury liner," whereas it doesn't cost them much of anything when a passenger falls overboard. Do you think these Disney cruise lines, registered in the Bahamas, care anything at all about you and your trivial life?

[AllieGoogle]

01:45 PM on 03/28/2011

There are tons of cameras on ships - if you've ever been on one you know that. If someone really wants to jump - you can't stop them. And it's like any city - you have to be careful of your surroundings and the people near you.

[TxLibNan]

08:51 AM on 03/28/2011

Disney! How much more American can a company be? It seens at least one BIG reason they are registered in the Bahamas is plain ole tax evasion!
And leave it to a corporation to not let anything get in the way of profit. They come across as being primarily concerned with not being sued and this tragedy not causing any interruption to their schedule! Sad!
Does anyone out there know why cruise ships are never registered in the U.S.?

[KennebunkportIndependent]

09:08 AM on 03/28/2011

Tax.  Pure and simple.  Almost every US owned merchant ship is registered in Panama, Bermuda, Liberia or other tax haven countries.

[TxLibNan]

10:59 AM on 03/28/2011

Great! I was hoping against hope that there was a reason other than TAXES AND LIABILITY, in other words MONEY!

[shanghaislim]

11:02 AM on 03/28/2011

Let the Pirates have'em!!!!

[MMRDO]

10:14 AM on 03/28/2011

Liability.

[dwill123]

08:45 AM on 03/28/2011

Just because of situations like this ship crew members should be lojacked.

[EmilyRose2010]

08:24 AM on 03/28/2011

a cruise ship is the perfect place for foul play and this young lady is gone and it is so sad and how can they find out what caused her to go overboard??

[KennebunkportIndependent]

09:09 AM on 03/28/2011

Modern cruise ships have security cameras everywhere, even outside to spot anyone that goes overboard.  The only place without them is inside a stateroom.   Everywhere else, including bathrooms, is covered by recorded CCTV.

[phoebequeen]

07:38 AM on 03/28/2011

I feel for her parents. How horrible. I have a fear of cruise ships and would never get on one.

[MMRDO]

08:04 AM on 03/28/2011

They're safer than cargo ships for the most part, more crew and lifeboats.

[HotheadPaisen]

08:17 AM on 03/28/2011

Yes, but so often members of the crew are the dangerous part.

[EmilyRose2010]

08:22 AM on 03/28/2011

don't think a comparison of a cruise ship and a cargo ship is far. this has to do with foul play of some sort. this is not about the amt. o crew and lifeboats.

[AllieGoogle]

01:46 PM on 03/28/2011

Been on plenty - no more to fear than being in any 'city' of several thousand.