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A 55-year-old woman from the United States, Ann Evans, vanished during her Caribbean cruise after stepping off a bus on a tour around the island. The unsettling incident unfolded when Evans, a passenger aboard the Holland America ship, the Rotterdam, disappeared during a stop at Port St. Maarten in Philipsburg on November 20.
The Police Force of Sint Maarten has confirmed this troubling case, explaining that Evans had departed the cruise ship for an organized island tour at around 10:00 a.m. During the excursion, she disembarked the tour bus in Marigot, located in French Saint Martin, but failed to return, neither to the bus nor to the cruise ship.
Holland America has expressed its concern and cooperation in this matter. In a statement to USA Today, the cruise line emphasized that they “notified local authorities immediately” and are actively collaborating with them to ascertain Evans’ current location.
“At approximately 10:00 a.m., she departed the ship on an organized island tour,” the agency said in a missing person alert. “During the tour, Ms. Evans disembarked the bus in Marigot, French Saint Martin, during the tour but did not return to the bus or to the cruise vessel.”
In a statement to USA Today, Holland America said that the company “notified local authorities immediately and we are working closely with them to confirm the guest’s whereabouts.”
The Rotterdam left Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 16 and is currently on a 12-day cruise through the Caribbean.
Law enforcement officials in St. Maarten are continuing to search for Evans, and are urging anybody with information about the missing woman to come forward.
Evans’ disappearance is the latest cruise-line incident to make headlines.
Earlier in November, the body of 18-year-old Anna Kepner was found under a bed aboard a Carnival cruise ship. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Kepner’s body was found by a housekeeper under the bed in her stateroom on the ship, which returned to Port Miami on Nov. 8.
Kepner died of “mechanical asphyxia,” according to a death certificate obtained by ABC News.
Authorities have kept details of the investigation under wraps but told the family that Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother was considered a suspect in the death. According to ABC News, the Kepners were told by authorities that the stepbrother was “the only one seen going in and the only one seen going out” from the room, per the security cameras.
And in October, a luxury cruise was canceled mid-trip after an 80-year-old woman was left behind during an island excursion and died on a remote island near Australia.
The woman, identified as Suzanne Rees, was found dead after being left behind on Lizard Island, one of the first stops on the 60-day voyage. The reported $50,000 voyage was scheduled to take passengers around Australia, eventually reaching Western Australia.
CEO of Coral Expeditions, the cruise operator, Mark Fifield, told BBC the remainder of the trip was cancelled due to the “tragic passing of Suzanne Rees and previous mechanical issues.” He added that the company was issuing full refunds and coordinating flights for all passengers.
Rees was reported missing after crew members aboard the Coral Adventurer confirmed she had not returned to the ship. A land and sea search was launched, and her body was discovered on the island a day later.