Monday, December 29, 2008

Jennifer Ellis-Seitz, Florida reporter missing at sea

Details emerge about Winter Haven woman who went overboard on cruise ship
Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel Staff Reports
4:22 PM EST, December 29, 2008

MIAMI - The family of the Winter Haven woman who fell off a cruise ship last week suspects she committed suicide.

A statement released today by Jennifer Ellis-Seitz's family shows she had "emotional issues" in the past."She was excited about starting a new job and her future career with a local newspaper. She and her husband had been talking about starting their family," her family wrote in the statement. But the family "suspects that Jennifer chose an unfortunate ending to her life. She was a beautiful and caring person and will be truly missed by all who love her."The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search this afternoon for the 36-year-old woman who plunged off the 15-deck cruise ship and into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday night.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen said search efforts for Ellis-Seitz were hampered by the gap between her fall from the Miami-based Norwegian Pearl and the start of the Coast Guard's rescue effort. U.S. Coast Guard officials said they were told about the woman's disappearance more than 11 hours after she had fallen from the deck of the cruise ship.

Videotape surveillance captured Ellis-Seitz falling overboard about 8 p.m. Thursday, as the vessel sailed 15 miles east of Cancun, Mexico. Her husband, Raymond Seitz, didn't report her missing until 5 a.m. the following day, a Coast Guard official said.

Ameen said that videotape has been "crucial'' to the Coast Guard efforts because its time and date stamp allows the Coast Guard to pinpoint the ship's exact location of where she went overboard.

FBI agents are analyzing the tape to determine whether Ellis-Seitz accidentally fell of the ship, jumped or was pushed.

Ellis-Seitz had worked as a reporter for several Florida newspapers, including the Ledger, Tampa Tribune and Florida Today, according to a biography on her personal Web site.

She runs NewsHound Communications, which does writing, editing, proofreading, training and advertising, The Tampa Tribune said.
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2 comments:

  1. Seitz pushed his wife overboard, no doubt in my mind

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Senior
    You could be right but there is a security tape this time. If he did, it'll be on tape.

    ReplyDelete

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