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The father of a Florida teenager who tragically passed away on a Carnival cruise ship was missing when authorities attempted to deliver a subpoena to him before a crucial custody hearing.
Christopher Kepner is the father of Anna Kepner, the 18-year-old whose body was discovered in her cabin around 11:15 a.m. on November 7. She had been on a family trip with her father, stepmother, grandparents, and several siblings.
A sworn statement from a process server, filed ahead of a heated custody hearing planned for Friday, indicated that Christopher could not be located after being summoned to testify at a December 5 hearing in Brevard County.
The tragic death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner occurred on November 7 while she was aboard a Carnival cruise with her family. (Image courtesy of Anna Kepner/Instagram)
Process server Leslie V. Kinsey reported that Kepner’s SUV was idling in the driveway and the lights were on inside the Titusville residence, but there was no answer despite multiple attempts to knock and ring the doorbell.
Kinsey said a “No Trespassing” sign was posted on the property and a Ring doorbell camera was visible near the entrance. She announced several times that she was there to serve a subpoena and left the paperwork on the SUV’s windshield at 10:29 a.m.
When Kinsey returned, the SUV had left and the subpoena he placed on its windshield was gone.
Read the verified return of non-service:
While the bureau hasn’t publicly identified anyone as a suspect, and no criminal charges have been filed, the feud in family court between Christopher’s wife, Shauntel Kepner, and her ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, has revealed that their 16-year-old son is being investigated by the FBI in connection with Anna’s death.
The teenager had been traveling on the cruise ship with family members when she died. Anna shared a room with her two stepsiblings on the ship.
Anna Kepner, her father, stepmother and several siblings in a family photo. (Shauntel Kepner/Facebook)
After Anna’s death, Hudson asked the judge for custody of the daughter he shares with Shauntel, arguing in part that her parenting has directly put their 16-year-old son’s future “in jeopardy.”
“The Petitioner has not been allowed input into the children’s lives and his lack of involvement has negatively impacted the children,” Hudson wrote to the judge on Nov. 17.
Christopher Kepner has not responded to Fox News Digital’s attempts to reach him.