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Sad / Cruises / Jennifer Seitz / → All Tags

Norwegian Passenger The Latest To Disappear At Sea

The FBI is investigating the latest disappearance of a passenger from a cruise ship, this time 36-year-old Jennifer Seitz, who may have fallen off the Norwegian Pearl on December 25. Her husband, who was also on the cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, reported her missing at 3:50 am on December 26.

The US Coast Guard says it has surveillance footage showing a woman falling overboard at 8:08 pm, when the ship was near Cancun. Search parties have so far been unable to find Seitz on the 15-deck ship or any trace of her in the ocean.

While the FBI says it's "looking to see if a crime was committed on the high seas," most--but not all--cases of people falling off cruise ships are accidents. Cruise Junkie has a decidedly lo-fi but well-sourced archive of incidents involving cruise ship passengers and crew going overboard.

Related Stories:
· FBI Launches Investigation into Missing Passenger [Sun-Sentinel]
· Cruise Passengers Overboard [Cruise Junkie]
· Cruises coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Pearl: Pink Dispatcher]

Where Is / Accidents / Botanical Gardens / Sad / → All Tags

The Atlanta Botanical Garden?

One worker was killed and 17 more were injured this morning when scaffolding alongside the still-under-construction "Canopy Walk" attraction collapsed. Crews were pouring concrete for part of the 40-foot-high, 600-foot-long elevated walkway that's scheduled to open next spring.

Part of Atlanta's Piedmont Park, plans call for the botanical garden to double in size to 30 acres by next year, with a new LEED-certified visitor center in addition to the Canopy Walk, which, when finished, will wind through the Storza Woods on the northern end of the garden.

One of the most prominent attractions of its kind in the US, the Atlanta Botanical Garden has hosted a hugely popular Dale Chihuly exhibit and a Niki de Saint Phalle show in addition to other art events and is home to the country's largest collection of orchids.

Related Stories:
· Scaffolding Collapse at Garden [AJC]
· Canopy Walk [Official Site]

Where Is / F-18 Crash / Sad / → All Tags

The F-18 Crash Site In San Diego?

A Marine F/A-18D crashed into a tony section of the San Diego neighborhood of University City Monday afternoon, killing three people on the ground after the pilot ejected safely. The wreckage destroyed two homes and damaged more. A fourth person--a child--is still missing.

The jet took off from the USS Abraham Lincoln offshore and was returning to Air Station Miramar, the former home of the US Navy Fighter Weapons School that was the basis of the movie "Top Gun." Though the fighter jet training outfit now operates out of Nevada, Miramar remains the home of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which flies Harrier jets and Hercules transports in addition to F/A-18s.

In 2006, San Diego residents voted down a proposal to add commercial operations at Miramar, which when built was on the outskirts of town. It now sits, tragically, just across I-805 from lots of neighborhoods.

Related Stories:
· Three Killed as Fighter Jet Crashes in San Diego [Union-Tribune]
· Where Is... coverage [Jaunted]