wnbc.com
Friday, October 10, 2008, 11:41 pm
Search 
Search IBS  Search the Web
news
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news, daily headlines and more.
More

Boyfriend Of Missing Cruise Ship Passenger Returns Home

POSTED: 7:33 pm EDT May 14, 2008
UPDATED: 11:05 am EDT May 16, 2008

The boyfriend of a New Jersey woman who is presumed dead after falling from a cruise ship is now back in the United States.

Jorge Caputo returned home to New Jersey from Bermuda after being questioned by the F.B.I. Caputo's girlfriend, Mindy Jordan, fell from a balcony on the Norwegian Dawn on May 11, about 40 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.

The FBI said agents have seized the railing and glass partitions of both staterooms on a cruise ship and will analyze the items at their headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI is probing whether a crime occurred when Jordan fell from the side of the Norwegian Dawn liner just hours after it took off from New York City en route for the Bahamas.

Norwegian Cruise Lines said Wednesday that surveillance cameras had captured Jordan’s fall and indicated that she was alone just prior to the incident.

The FBI said it would enhance and analyze that video.

Meantime, Jordan’s family said they fear that her fall was not only tragic, but also criminal.

Read the cruise line's statement, timeline

Jordan's family has been asking authorities for a full investigation -- rather than simply relying on the early word from the cruise line.

"Our interest is to understand what happened," said Jordan's brother, Steve Lynn, who traveled from his home in Kentucky to be with his and Jordan's mother, Louise Horton, in her Bordentown home.

Lynn said the FBI also interviewed his mother Tuesday night and took some possible evidence -- including photos of bruises on his sister.

Horton has said that Jordan's relationship with boyfriend Jorge Caputo was abusive. Jordan, the mother of two teenagers, had been involved with Caputo for about 2½ years and lived with him in the Philadelphia suburb of Pine Hill for most of that time, her brother said.

Lynn said relatives had encouraged Jordan to contact authorities about the way Caputo treated her. "She was reluctant to do that and did not," he said.

Caputo has not been charged with any crime. The cruise ship has also released a timeline indicating the sequence of events.

  • Mindy Jordan and Jorge Caputo dined at the Garden Cafe with the couple they were traveling with and then returned to their assigned adjacent staterooms at approximately 7:28 p.m.

  • At 7:36 p.m., Jorge left his stateroom and went to join his friends in their stateroom next door. From that moment on, Mindy is alone in her stateroom.

  • At 7:53 p.m., surveillance cameras from the exterior of the ship capture Mindy falling overboard from her balcony, straight into the water. Shortly thereafter, an emergency call was made from the friends' stateroom and Jorge is seen exiting to seek help.

  • At 7:57 p.m., a man overboard announcement is made and the ship's crew began lifesaving operations, including the launch of two rescue boats.

    IMAGES IN THE NEWS

    Sponsored Links




    Links We Like
    Sponsored Content
    Learn about the most common cancers that could affect you and what you can do to prevent them. More

    If you’re starting to feel like your home needs a little warmth, try these helpful hints to make your living space just a little more cozy. More

    If you’re feeling like you’re not doing what you’re supposed to, take this quiz and take control of your working destiny. More

    Everyone needs iron in their diet. Find out which foods are the best sources. Some of them might surprise you! More

    Like online video? Then you'll love Now See This.

    Get Your Degree

    Education is essential when you are entering the job market and is going to have a tremendous affect on the salary that you will earn while on the job. More