Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
The father of Kenneth John Gemmell spoke out recently about the disappearance at sea of his 30-year-old son. We reported on this story as soon as it happened and once additional information became known. Several passengers on that same cruise have come forward with pertinent information which have raised some doubt as to exactly what happened to the young man.
Read our previous posts on this story:
Another Death of 30 year-old Royal Caribbean Cruise Passenger
Family of Deceased Cruise Passenger Seeks Information from Fellow Cruisers
In the last 24 hours, Kenneth’s father, James Gemmell, has reiterated the family’s efforts to get more information from fellow cruisers who may have more information about the disappearance of Kenneth and the claims by the cruise line that the yound man committed suicide.
A spokesman for Royal Caribbean Cruises, which operates the “Allure of the Seas” released a more detailed statement: “He was alone on the balcony in his stateroom on deck 11 when he stepped on top of the balcony table in order to jump over the balcony railing. The footage is consistent with an eyewitness report from another guest.”
The statement refers to a video footage captured on the ship’s closed circuit surveillance system. While the statement seems to leave no doubt as to what happened in the seconds prior to Kenneth’s jumping off the ship, the family is still trying to understand what led the young man to such an act.
In an interview, James Gemmell has said that “Kenneth was not a suicide risk. He went out on a holiday and was very happy. We just don’t understand what happened.” His mother added her son “was very good at his job and loyal to those he worked with and was a happy and outgoing person. He went on the cruise a very happy and jolly person. He was delighted about it and had nothing to be sad about. He was not a suicide risk.”
The reason Kenneth’s parents are continuously looking for answers is easily explained. First, despite the claim by the cruise line that the 30-year-old committed suicide and taht he was caught on their surveillance system jumping off the ship on his power remains to be proven. The cruise line has yet to turn over the video footage to the family at this point in time. Second, the investigators, who we can assume have seen the video footage in question, have not indicated that this is a suicide case and the investigation is still ongoing. Lastly, and probably most importantly for the family, several fellow cruisers have come forward on forums and other online websites and commented that they saw Kenneth have an argument with a crew member not long before he allegedly disappeared.
Those doubts are reinforced by new rumors that the said crewmember who entered into an argument with Kenneth, may have disembarked in Cozumel while the authorities were still searching for Kenneth’s body and never returned aboard the ship. Some cruisers brought even more troubling doubts when said crewmember may have been selling drugs to passengers that night.
Yesterday, in the face of the new information, that has yet to be substantiated, Royal denied that any crew members failed to report for sailing while in Cozumel.
If you have any additional information, you may reach the parents by email at Michael@ mhynes.com
It has now been over 10 days that Kenneth disappeared and his parents have yet to see the video footage which allegedly show their son jumping off the cruise ship. Investigators may want to protect such piece of evidence in what could still become a criminal investigation, yet the right thing to do would be to help Kenneth’s family understand and cope with this tragedy.
If you have any additional information, you may contact Leesfield & Partners directly by email at info@leesfield.com and our cruise ship accident attorneys will relay any information to the parents.
