FBI Investigating ‘Suspicious Death’ Of Cruise Ship Passenger

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the “suspicious death” of a woman who was on a five-day cruise from South Carolina to the Bahamas, the agency’s Columbia field office announced.

The death of the 44-year-old woman, who was not identified in the FBI’s announcement, occurred during a five-day cruise from South Carolina to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, the agency said Sunday.

The cruise left Charleston February 27, according to Matt Lupoli, senior manager of public relations for Carnival Cruise Line.

The passenger’s death likely occurred in the early morning hours of February 28, Kevin Wheeler, public affairs specialist for the FBI’s Columbia field office, said.

Medical staff and crew members attempted life-saving measures once they learned the passenger was unresponsive, the FBI’s statement said.

The woman had been traveling with her husband, Lupoli said. Her husband disembarked from the cruise in Nassau on March 1 and her remains were also debarked from the ship, he said.
Investigators with the FBI’s Evidence Response Team processed the passenger’s room as evidence once the ship returned to Charleston as planned on March 4, according to the agency.

The FBI said the death was an isolated incident and that other passengers did not face any threat before or after the woman was found dead.

Nobody is in custody at this time, according to Wheeler. He said he could not comment on the circumstances of the woman’s death or on any information about her husband or the status of the autopsy.

In a statement provided to NBC News, Lupoli said authorities in the Bahamas “have already investigated the circumstances and are conducting an autopsy,” and that Carnival is “fully cooperating.”

“This is a matter for authorities in The Bahamas and Charleston and we have no further comments,” Lupoli said.