Merrian Carver: The Alaskan Ship Vanishing // 626

Summary

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Going West: True Crime

Episode 626: Merrian Carver – The Alaskan Ship Vanishing

Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman
Date: July 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this haunting exploration, Daphne and Heath delve into the mysterious 2004 disappearance of 40-year-old Merrian Carver, who vanished during a solo cruise to Alaska. The episode unravels the unsettling details of Merrian's background, her fateful journey aboard the Celebrity Cruises “Mercury,” and the troubling, negligent aftermath handled by cruise officials and law enforcement. It’s a tale of personal tragedy compounded by corporate opacity, jurisdictional confusion, and a family's relentless quest for answers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Merrian Carver: Background & Life Before Disappearance (03:07–06:52)

• Childhood and Family: Merrian, an artistic and sensitive soul, had a supportive family and a close relationship with her daughter Rachel.
• Personal Upheaval: After a high-achieving academic and early professional career, Merrian married a financier and had a daughter before divorcing. Rachel ultimately lived in London with her father, but Merrian and Rachel remained extremely close, speaking daily.
• Mental State: Family insisted Merrian was in good spirits at the time of her disappearance, keeping busy and feeling positive despite life changes.

The Cruise: Plans and Initial Days Onboard (06:52–15:17)

• A Sudden Trip: Merrian booked her cruise just two days before leaving, telling no one—not even her daughter—something both out of character and yet explained by her love of solitude.
• Voyage Details: The “Mercury” was an upscale, adult-oriented cruise with about 2,000 passengers, multiple stops in Alaska, and a final destination in Vancouver.
• Behavior Onboard:
  • Merrian kept mostly to herself, preferring room service over formal dinners.
  • Steward Domingo, responsible for her room, described her as “personable, relaxed, and looking forward” to the voyage (10:30).
  • Oddity: Ship records indicated the room was booked for a couple with a baby, although Merrian was alone—a detail the hosts debate for its potential importance (11:00).

The Vanishing: Timeline and Key Details (15:17–25:40)

• Last Sightings:

  • Merrian is last seen by Domingo on Saturday, August 28, 2004, around 8:30 pm, after ordering two sandwiches for room service.
  • She again declined to socialize, emphasizing solitude.
  • Debate about the significance of the “two sandwiches,” but no evidence someone else was ever seen in her room (15:27–15:58).

• Discovery of Absence:

  • Next morning (Sunday, August 29), Merrian’s room is empty; bed undisturbed, and her belongings are still there except for the blouse, bra, and underwear she was last seen wearing.
  • $107 in cash and a manila envelope are found on the desk (18:55-19:07); Domingo does not open the envelope.

• Crew Response:

  • Domingo persistently raises concerns to supervisors, who dismiss him, suggesting guests often stay in others’ cabins for romantic reasons.
  • No meaningful action is taken by cruise officials; his concerns are largely ignored, and Domingo is required to sign an NDA (21:32).

Aftermath: Inaction, Cover-Up Allegations, and the Family’s Search (25:40–42:34)

• Cruise Line Actions:

  • Merrian’s belongings are stored and then sent to Miami before being donated—without notifying family (24:36–24:59).
  • Critical evidence (the cash and envelope) is either “lost or stolen” (24:42).

• Family Discovers Disappearance:

  • Rachel and the family become concerned when Merrian misses daily calls.
  • Initial police efforts are stymied when it’s discovered Merrian left for the cruise; discovery via credit card records and her computer trail leads to the Alaska cruise.
  • The cruise line takes three days to even confirm Merrian was a passenger and does little to aid the investigation (23:31–24:36).

• Jurisdictional Black Hole:

  • Police and FBI are hamstrung by the incident’s occurrence in international waters; responsibility is bounced between agencies (30:55–32:01).

• Private Investigation and Roadblocks:

  • Merrian’s father Ken Carver hires a PI, who is denied access to critical evidence, including the ship, employees, and security footage.
  • The cruise line fires the supervisor who failed to act, but he is never made available for questioning (33:21–34:39).
  • Persistent corporate stonewalling includes lying about when the ship’s surveillance footage is erased—potentially destroying pivotal evidence (38:20–38:56).

Quote:
“All along the way, they've been lying to us and leading us down a path. And I say it's tough to lose a daughter, let alone be dealing with a cover up.”
— Ken Carver (38:56)

Unanswered Questions and Theories (36:28–47:53)

• Suicide Theory:
  • Royal Caribbean pushes suicide as the likely scenario, often insensitively and with little evidence, despite requests for proof.
  • Merrian’s booking of a return flight and lack of previous suicidal behavior undercut the theory (43:28–45:40).
  • Family objects to the cruise line’s public statements, which they feel are slanderous and dismissive (45:40–45:53).

Quote:
“If they knew it was a suicide, then show us that it was a suicide. Give us the evidence.”
— Ken Carver (45:53)

• Possible Crew Member Involvement:

  • Rumors persist that Merrian was involved with a crew member; electronic locks could’ve allowed for unauthorized entry. No evidence given this theory serious investigation (46:59–47:22).

• Negligence and Regulatory Gaps:

  • The episode starkly highlights a lack of regulation and consistent protocols regarding disappearances at sea, especially in international waters.

Aftermath & Impact (48:40–53:14)

• Legal Action and Advocacy:

  • Carvers sue Royal Caribbean and settle out of court; company never admits fault.
  • Ken Carver founds International Cruise Victims in 2006, aiding others affected by such tragedies.

• Statistics:

  • Roughly 20–25 people go overboard or missing from cruise ships each year out of 30 million passengers—while small percentage-wise, the lack of closure for families is profound (48:40–49:42).
  • About 10% of cruise passengers experience or witness crime onboard.

• Ultimate Lack of Resolution:

  • Remains found in 2006 suspected to be Merrian's are identified years later as another missing woman—leaving Merrian’s fate uncertain.
  • Ken Carver passed away in 2019, never learning his daughter’s fate.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Inaction:
  “How is everybody except for her family and Domingo dropping the ball on her disappearance?” (29:56, Daphne)

• On Cruise Ship Policy:
  “They essentially... they fucking lied to him. They lied to Ken.” (38:56, Heath)

• On Corporate Deflection:
  “The sad reality is that in any case where parents lose a child... there's probably nothing we or any company could do that would make the parents feel the company had acted sensitively enough.” (42:01, Royal Caribbean spokesperson)

• On Cover-Up Allegations:
  “If they knew it was a suicide, then show us that it was a suicide. Give us the evidence.” (45:53, Ken Carver)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:07 – Merrian’s background and family life
• 06:52 – Decision to book the cruise and preparation
• 09:12–14:22 – Life onboard: demeanor, habits, steward’s reports
• 15:17 – Final night: room service and last contact
• 18:41–19:19 – Room found empty, staff’s initial (non)response
• 23:31 – Cruise line’s lag in confirming Merrian ever boarded
• 30:45–32:01 – Law enforcement’s jurisdictional confusion
• 33:21 – Private investigation and fired cruise supervisor
• 38:20–38:56 – Security footage controversy, alleged deletion
• 42:01–43:23 – Corporate statements denying liability
• 48:40–53:14 – Broader cruise ship disappearance statistics, founding of International Cruise Victims, summary

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Tone & Delivery

Daphne and Heath narrate the episode with persistent empathy and frustration, channeling the Carver family’s search for truth. The tone is conversational and at times incredulous, especially regarding the systemic negligence and corporate deflection by the cruise line. Both hosts underline the emotional toll and broader implications for passenger safety at sea.

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For Listeners

• Call to Action:
  If you have any information about Merrian Carver's disappearance, please contact Alaska State Troopers at 907-269-5511.
• Learn More:
  Photos and additional resources on Merrian Carver are available on the show's Instagram @goingwestpodcast, Facebook, and TikTok.
• Further Support:
  International Cruise Victims (founded by Ken Carver) remains an active organization for families affected by cruise ship disappearances.

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This episode exposes both a very personal mystery and systemic industry failures, leaving listeners to ask: When someone vanishes at sea, who—if anyone—will be held accountable?

Transcript

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[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, Heath.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Hello, everybody. I hope you're doing well today. You know, Heath and I, we love covering seasonal cases. So today is one of the few, like cruise ship boat cases that we're going to be talking about this summer. But this case is very eerie and unsettling. There's like a lot of mystery to it.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. And a lot of negligence as you guys are going to see. Truly, this one is very frustrating. I will say it is like there's

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

like so many people drop the ball on this case. We have so much to get into.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

So without further ado, so many boat episodes for you guys. It's crazy.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

If you guys haven't, check out Lynette Hooker. We covered that very recently. That is a happening now disappearance that also happened on a boat. But it wasn't a cruise ship. It was like a sailboat.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Actually.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It was technically a dinghy, but we'll see. We don't really know. There's a lot of lies in that story, so if you haven't listen to that one after this one.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

This is episode 626 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

In August of 2004, a 40 year old woman boarded a cruise alone in Seattle while looking forward to a week of solitude at sea. But less than two days into the voyage, she seemed to vanish without a trace. Her cabin remained untouched with her personal belongings inside. And yet no one could explain where she had gone or when she had even disappeared. And even more eerie than that was the behavior of the cruise line in the aftermath of her vanishing sea. This is the strange disappearance of Marion Carver. Marion Lynn Carver was born on April 3, 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Carol and Kendall. He goes by Ken though, and she grew up alongside three younger sisters named Kendra Lee and Christine. Ken described his daughter as an overachiever and a creative and very sensitive soul. She loved to write, particularly poetry, which we're going to talk a little bit about today, and was very adventurous and also an avid traveler. Marian graduated from Darien High school in Stamford, Connecticut in 1982 and went on to attend Simmons College in Boston. But shortly after graduating, she left the east coast altogether when she was hired as a financial consultant with a firm in Houston, Texas. On October 8, 19, 1988, she married a man named Alexander Naster who also worked in finance, and after a lavish honeymoon they settled down and began their life in Houston, soon welcoming a daughter named Rachel. Now notably, I just kind of want to mention this, it's not super relevant, but I feel like it's maybe good background information to have.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Sure.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Her husband, Alexander Naster, comes from a family of wealth and success like his mother was a civil engineer and his father coined multiple patents for the metal coating on batteries, among many other things.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, interesting.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. So like that kind of family. He was actually born in Russia and then he moved to the US at the age of 16 and attended both Carnegie Mellon and Harvard before pursuing his PhD in economics, now worth an estimated $2.1 billion.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

With a B.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

With a B. He founded a private equity firm called Pamplona Capital management in the UK in 20045 and holds dual citizenship. He actually resides between London and New York City since what happened. What we're going to be talking about today though, some of this success came after he and Marion split up, with Alexander settling in London along with their then 9 year old daughter Rachel. After they did so, they split up when Rachel was about 9 years old. And Alexander took Rachel to London.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. And Marion stayed in Massachusetts.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. So it's kind of weird because we don't really know why Rachel was able to move with her dad, like across the world, even though he, he did kind of go between the two countries. So we don't really know why. But I will say with Marion staying in the US and her daughter being in England, they did remain very close and spoke every day on the phone in the four years between when Marian and her husband Alexander split and when she vanished. Now, at the time of her disappearance, Marianne was living alone in Cambridge, Massachusetts, able to sustain herself on the trust fund that she had and her investments. But despite the setback in her personal life, her family maintains that she was in good spirits that summer. You know, it had been a few years since she and Alexander had split and she had been keeping super busy. This included booking a last minute cruise to Alaska from which she would never return.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Strangely, Marion didn't tell anybody that she was headed on the trip, even her 13 year old daughter, despite them, of course, talking every day. And actually, Marian booked the trip just two days before she left. So it wasn't only, you know, potentially secretive, but it was also very sudden and maybe not so much secretive as just something that was kind of her own. Because her father, Ken, maintained that Marian really valued her solitude and that she was an experienced traveler. So this wasn't necessarily like something out of character for her to do.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And I wonder if maybe because she lived alone and because she enjoyed her solitude and she was an avid traveler, like, maybe she was like, you know what, I don't need to tell anybody yet. I'm just gonna go. It's really sudden. I kind of want to get away. I'm just gonna go and I'll tell people about it later. It's like, yeah, it clearly. You know, it's funny because this is hard for me to imagine. I feel like with the true crime brain, I'm like, I tell people when I'm going to the grocery store, you know.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But not everybody's like that. So maybe for her she was just like, I'm just gonna go and I'm gonna have a little trip and I'll still keep in touch with my family and then I'm gonna come back.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Sure. And I mean, on top of this, she had also taken this trip before with her daughter.

[Commercial Narrator]

Right.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

So, you know, she may have felt like more emboldened than she would have if it was like some sort of new destination or she May have been using this trip as like kind of like a nostalgic walk down memory lane kind of thing.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it was like a little familiar, which I feel like makes any trip easier.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Right. Well, Marion left Boston on Thursday, August 26, 2004 bound for Seattle and then boarded the ship the next day, which is Friday, August 27th. The ship was called the Mercury and it was operated by Celebrity Cruises, which is a division of Royal Caribbean Group. It departed from Seattle and made stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan in Alaska and Prince Rupert island in British Columbia, before then docking in Vancouver, where then of course, passengers would disembark. This was a five stop week long cruise and the apparent reason for this trip was so that Marian could kind of spend some time writing poetry and just recharging herself. So it was set to be a simple, relaxing getaway. Now, so that everybody has the right visual, I want to paint kind of the scene of this cruise because this definitely wasn't like a party cruise or a cruise full of kids and water slides.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

That's unfortunately where the mind goes.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, of course not the Titanic vibes, exactly. It was, it was fairly upscale. It was an upscale cruise. Yes. There was some families, but mostly just like adults, retirees and couples now aboard. You'd have formal dinners, live orchestras and piano bars, production shows, and people dressing a little bit nicer.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It makes sense. It's not like this is like a Caribbean cruise. It's not like fun in the sun vibes.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Like you're not partying really necessarily on this cruise.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

No, it's like late summer. You're going to Alaska and Alaska is so beautiful. But it's not like party destination. It's more scenic.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes, it's very, very scenic. This cruise ship was a typical size with roughly 2,000 passengers and 900 or so crew members. So on the first evening aboard this, this cruise ship, the Mercury, on Friday, August 27, 2004, Marion spent the evening just kind of settling in. She rented the roomy cabin 8137 on the ninth floor, which was just a short walk from a large open air balcony. On her first evening on board, Marion was believed to have been seen getting a drink. But then she retreated to the other side of the ship, which is a little bit quieter. Before long, she headed back to her cabin, presumably to spend some time writing.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

The steward, a man named Domingo, we're gonna be talking about Domingo quite a bit today. Delivered a few towels at her request. Later that evening she called and she wanted some Towels, and then she went to bed early. He later described Marian as, quote, personable, relaxed, and looking forward to the cruise.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Kind of have to remember that with what, you know, everything that we're going to talk about today.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. That she made it clear that she was excited about this entire trip. And he also later recalled his surprise that a lone occupant was in her room, because for whatever reason, his records show that the room had been booked by a couple with a baby. So, like, part of me wonders, I'm just going to tell you right now, we don't have an explanation for this. Part of me wonders if they maybe

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

double booked or something.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

No, I kind of like, I mean, maybe because it seemed like a full ship, but I wonder if maybe more so that she put that there was more people so that she wouldn't. It wouldn't look like she was a woman alone in her room for safety reasons. Like, I don't even know.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, that. That could be true.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so hard to explain. We. We really don't know. And maybe it was an error even. Well, when Domingo reported to her room on the first night, Marian was lying in bed wearing the blue dress that she had worn at embarkation, as well as a long sleeved blouse. She told him that she didn't care to have dinner in the formal dining room as he took note of how little she had with her spotting. Just two handbags and a single pair of sandals. Despite the potential for chilly, inclement weather. You know, this is late August in Alaska, because even summer temperatures in Alaska can hover in the low 40s Fahrenheit or even around 4 degrees Celsius. So it was definitely not going to be. Again, this is not.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

I literally had no idea that it would get that chilly, actually.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, Alaska's freaking cold, dude. Well, Domingo also had a steward's assistant, though later, when he was asked, he couldn't recall the man's name, which is kind of weird. I mean, this, this investigation is quite ongoing, so maybe it's. It's possible that they didn't work together for long. And he's like, I don't even know who that was. But we don't know who this guy is. You know, we.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

We have no idea who this assistant is.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But this also just means that there was someone else besides him tending to Marian and some other people's rooms who were nearby on the ship. While the pair even saw Marian the next day, Saturday, which was a sea day, on the way to their first destination, which was Juneau again from Seattle. So Juneau to Seattle. You know, you have to have a whole day at sea, usually to go from destination to destination. So everybody's just enjoying their time on the ship before they dock at their first stop. Now, that time, she was apparently wearing the same blouse that she had on the day before with a bra, which was visible through the blouse, and underwear underneath it, without pants. And this, of course, was inside her own room because that is mostly where she's being seen, especially by Domingo and the other assistant steward.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, she's not out there trying to, like, mingle and meet people on the cruise ship. She just. She wants some time alone.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely. Which is why she's saying, I don't want to go to the formal dining room. Like, I just want to be in my room now. At 7:45 that evening, Domingo returned to do turn down service on the bed and place a chocolate on her pillow. There was actually a formal on board that evening. Not just a formal dinner, but like a formal event. And the steward asked if she would be in attendance. But Marian again told him that she had no interest in eating in the dining room or hanging out with the other guests. At which point he shared the room service menu with her, which was a service which was included in the meal packages on most cruises. Because, like Heath said, it seemed like she just wanted her solitude and to enjoy the views of the sea from her room as she relaxed or as she relaxed alone. She didn't want to. She didn't want to go out, which I think is interesting. Most people, I would say, go on cruises for all the amenities, which.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Which then the amenity really is like the views for her.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it does seem like that.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

That's what she's taken in so many times.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

While researching this, I was like, I wonder why she didn't just go to a hotel. Because. I don't know. I guess because we're not gonna. She's not gonna get to the first stop, so we don't. Not to spoil. But I guess in my head I'm like, what was. Was she excited for all of these stops and she was excited to get out and explore these different cities, or was she just gonna be on the ship the whole time? At which point I would then again ask, why not just go to one city and stay at a hotel? Yeah, so there's a lot of, like, weird points like that. Well, that night, Marian ordered two sandwiches. And Domingo, of course, returned about 15 minutes later with a tray and her meal. She offered him a tip, but for whatever Reason he declined. He basically just said, no, this is part of my job. I don't want a tip. Which, like, never heard that before.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, right.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And then he left her room around 8:30pm that evening. And that was the last time that he or anybody else saw Marion Carver.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Now, some have pointed to the order of two sandwiches as evidence that maybe somebody else may have been in the room with her. Though, again, the steward never saw anybody. We don't know what kind of sandwiches they were. And if maybe she was just hungry that night or maybe wanted to, like, save one to snack on later, especially

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

because it didn't seem like she wanted to leave her room. So it does make sense that.

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Am. Shit, I've done that before.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. You order a couple sandwiches, you save one for later.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Then you don't have to order room service again or venture out to find a snack. Like, she's just. Maybe she's hungry. But does this matter? We don't know.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

We don't know. Yeah. Well, not to harp on the sandwich thing, but at 5ft 7 inches tall and 100 pounds, many skeptics have been doubtful that Marion could have, you know, consumed both sandwiches herself that evening. And obviously, this just matters because knowing if they were both for her or not could make a huge difference, considering the fact that she was never seen again after this. And if she did have company, that would be crucial information. But anyway.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. No, it would be because. Yeah. Was somebody else in her room that night? That is kind of the question here.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, Exactly. Well, around 10:30am the following morning, Sunday, August 29, 2004, the day that they were docking at their first destination. Again, this is Juneau, Alaska. You know, the first of five stops, Domingo knocked on Marian's door, but she didn't answer. After knocking a few times, Domingo entered and claimed that the sandwich tray was gone, meaning that she had likely consumed all or some of her meal and then left it outside to be picked up.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And this is kind of interesting, too. It's like, you. You really don't know what matters in this case, which is why we're kind of going over these details, because something that I find interesting is Domingo and his assistant steward. Like, their job is essentially housekeeper, guest services, Right?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

So it's kind of like, I am your guide. I'm here for you to do what you need me to do. But they're not. They don't do everything. So, like, of course, there are food runners and people who would usually like. It wasn't even in Domingo's job description. Yeah. To even really be delivering food, which kind of makes me think that he had a liking for her, which will be very clear as we continue the story, which I think is also relevant how much he wanted to kind of see her and go to her room, because that wasn't a part of his job. Yet he comes running over with these sandwiches, and then we then wonder, was it in his job to pick up the tray? If he is more of a housekeeper, so much so to do turn down service and put the chocolate on the pillow, then he probably would be picking up that tray, which is why it's important, because if he and his assistant didn't pick up the tray, was the tray put outside, or did she go to somebody else's room, enjoy those sandwiches, and it was picked up by a different steward in a different area.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Because we're going to talk about the fact that a lot of people on cruise ships, they will meet, they will meet people, and then oftentimes they'll stay in a different person's room. Yeah. You know, as like a little hookup situation, for sure. But does this matter? We, we still don't know. Well, it's interesting because Marian's bed had not been disturbed, and it didn't appear that anybody had slept in it since Domingo had provided turndown service the night

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

before, which, again, so did she leave the room with the, with the tray?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Right. And this, you know, this would have been when Marion declined formal dinner and then ordered room service at 8:30pm that

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

was the last time that he was there.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

He says.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, on the desk was $107 in cash with his name card on it, as well as an unmarked manila envelope, which he declined to open.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

One of the most frustrating parts of this story.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Well, Domingo left the money behind and reported her absence to his supervisor, already strangely concerned that something bad had happened to her.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yet he didn't check the envelope. And again declining a tip.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

But Domingo was alone in his concern because his supervisor just told him that it was not entirely uncommon for somebody to meet a romantic partner, as I said, on board, and begin staying in their room instead. So despite Domingo's insistence that something had gone wrong, he was basically just told some iteration of just do your job and forget about it, which is insane.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, I, I, I see what they're saying here, that she could be with somebody else. You don't know her life. And he is, like you said, it's a little strange that he is so worried about her because they just met two Days ago. You have other guests that you're tending to, yet you are so laser focused on this particular one. But it is concerning that they're not looking into this at all. They're just saying, stop.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

They're just saying you're being, you're getting a little bit into her personal life. Like, chill out. Let it be. Thus, Domingo and the steward's assistant continue to dutifully make up Marion's room every morning and turn down the bed every night, replacing the uneaten chocolate on her pillow with a chocolate wrapped in a different color foil each night. He also left out the program of the day's activities, which went untouched as well. The only clothing that she left behind appeared to be the only clothing that she had brought with her. The dress and a pair of sandals, both of which were in the closet. Her blouse and her bra and underwear appeared to be missing, which was likely what she had been wearing the last time that she left that room.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But despite his supervisor's assurance that Marion was most likely on board and that she was fine, you know, having fun on the cruise as everybody else was, Domingo remained concerned about her. Probably because he also knew that she had been alone and that she had spent so much time in her room with so few bags. Like, it seems like she stood out among the rest of the guests. Kind of like I said from the start, right? So I guess that is like a fair kind of point to make is that he knew that she was by herself and was like, she has no clothes with her. The clothes that she does have are in her room. She's not coming back to her room to change or do anything. But he's really worried about her every single day. Like he even walked the ship looking for her and couldn't find her. And also continued to report her missing every single day of this week long cruise, despite his supervisors in action. Now, Domingo, who had been a loyal employee for 14 years, was informed that the company valued confidentiality and that officially his higher ups did not believe that anything nefarious had taken place. But weirdly, the supervisor had Domingo sign an NDA and the cruise continued to its ports. And I say weirdly, since we know that she vanished and we know where this story is going to go, but really it is pretty common with corporations. You know, they're trying to protect themselves.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly. And that's that, that's essentially what they're trying to do this entire cruise and after as well.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Like on the flip side, this could indicate possible staff or like company involvement or just a necessary Cover as not to reflect poorly on Carnival Cruises.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yo.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

So no real search for Marion happened that week. And the small amount of luggage that she had brought with her remained untouched in the room. On Friday, September 3, 2004, the cruise docked in its final stop, Vancouver, British Columbia. And it's unknown whether or not Marion ever disembarked. There is no record of her having done so. She was not seen at any of the ports. But I will say the records of disembarking passengers were not kept as diligently as they are now. So technically it's possible that she arrived.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it's like possible that she could have slipped off the ship without anybody realizing.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Right. But nobody saw her, nobody reported anything.

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

There are also a lot of passengers and she could have easily gone unnoticed, but she hasn't been in her room for days.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

But we're also going to talk about the fact that all of her shit was left behind. So it's kind of like you're going to leave this ship at the final destination without any of your stuff.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Because it wasn't just her, her dress. Like you said, as we're going to get into. Well, her father Ken later explained, quote, it took the Cruise Ship Co. Three days to conclude that Marion had even been on the Cruise. By then, 26 days had passed since her disappearance. They confirmed that she hadn't slept in her cabin after the first night, but hinted that this was not unusual. She could have spent the night in another cabin and gone ashore in Vancouver without having to document it, they said. So when Marion failed to collect the items from her room, Domingo was instructed to gather up those items that she left behind and place them in the supervisor's locker. More sensitive personal items, like her purse, which she also left behind, were kept in storage. And the rest of her items were sent to Miami, which is where the company is headquartered, and were later donated. Like, this is a huge difference. Her purse with all of her personal belongings, like her wallet, etc. Were in her room. Why would she disembark at Vancouver or anywhere else without her purse? What?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

But I also think it's weird that they sent all of her stuff to Miami and then they just donated it, right?

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Like what? At least give it to her family. Like, this is. This is why this case is so insane. This part really frustrates me because the cash and the letter were either lost or stolen. So the contents of that unmarked manila envelope remain a mystery to this day.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Which is so crazy, because if we knew what was in that manila envelope, we Might know exactly what happened to her.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

What was in that envelope and why didn't Domingo open it? I understand that maybe he was like, this is her personal. I mean, his name was on the, on the other envelope with the cash in it. Yeah, but maybe he thought, this isn't for me. I'm not going to touch it. You know, he had had this job for 14 years, so he probably was pretty good at it. So he didn't open it. And for whatever reason, it doesn't seem like anybody ever did. Her room was cleaned and turned over. And by the evening that the cruise docked, a new guest was staying in Marian's room.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

That's how quick the turnaround was. It was like, all right, well, she's not here. Moving on, move some new guests in. Meanwhile, Marian's 13 year old daughter Rachel had been calling in for her daily catch ups with her mom and hadn't heard back from her in days, which was extremely out of character for her.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And you know, I will say that is pretty weird thinking about the fact that they spoke on the phone every day and that Marian knew that she would be on a ship where she would not be reachable by phone and she didn't tell anybody where she was going. That is pretty weird to me.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. So obviously now Rachel's very concerned. So from London, she contacted her grandparents who were retired in Phoenix, Arizona, to tell them that she was worried about her mom. So Ken attempted to call Marion's cell phone, but received a busy signal each time. And on top of this, her landline also rang without an answer. Her parents then contacted the Cambridge police to do a wellness check on their daughter, completely unaware that she had been on a cruise out of Seattle that week, thinking that she was still home across the country in Massachusetts. So police arrived and even entered her apartment, but they found no sign of disruption, foul play, or an altercation. Because as we know, that's not where she vanished from.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But they're like starting, they're thinking at first that it was.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

They got to start from square one, which is her apartment. So they found her home undisturbed, but Marion was gone. The police then collected a laptop to be searched and also questioned her neighbors, but nobody had seen her. Well, it wasn't until Marion's computer was searched that they found evidence of her having booked this round trip airline ticket from Seattle, Washington, as well as this week long Alaskan vacation. Her father, Ken himself even traced her credit card records, on which charges ended abruptly just before she was last seen on board, though, because Marion didn't connect her credit card to her onboard account, which is the currency card that many people use while on board the ship. That means that she would have had to pay cash for everything that she purchased that was in addition to the package included with her ticket. So she probably just hadn't purchased anything on board at all. But still, her last purchases made on her card were before the last day that she was last seen. When her parents received word that she may have been on board this ship at all. Ken contacted them right away, but it took the company three days to respond. Marion's mom, Carol Carver, later said with frustration, they never planned to tell anybody.

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Marion was officially reported missing by her family on September 7, 2004, a week and a half after 40 year old Marion Carver had been seen by anyone. After the official missing persons report was filed and it seemed clear that Marion had disappeared while on board the cruise, the Cambridge Police Department got in contact with the Vancouver Police Department, the Alaska State Police, and the FBI. Of course, Ken himself contacted the Vancouver Police Department, but claims that they never called him back and never opened an official investigation either. Like, how is everybody except for her family and Domingo dropping the ball on her disappearance? Like, how are all officials dropping the ball like this?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, I mean, it just seems like they're. They're not taking it seriously whatsoever.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Something clearly happened to her. Like, how.

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[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

How do they not. How are they not clocking that?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

And then on top of that, you know, on top of the police department, the cruise ship isn't doing anything either.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, yeah, exactly. That's what I mean. Like, all officials, the company, the FBI, the local police. But it's just a lot. And I feel so bad for her family because her family is trying to press everybody. They're probably like, who are we supposed to contact? What are we supposed to do? We're not hearing back from anybody, and no one's doing anything.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

And it's gonna become even more apparent that the cruise ship truly doesn't care.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

When you. When you. When you describe their statements after she went missing or after she goes missing, it's very, very clear that they do not care.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's truly despicable. Well, Ken later remembered that the Cambridge police, quote, called Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and asked them to file it as a crime in Vancouver because that's where the ship ended up. That was not done, because, of course, it wasn't. Right. So Cambridge police were doing what they could, but they had no power whatsoever. And that's what's so upsetting is these are the people who Ken is able to speak with, and they're like, but the crime happened across the country and potentially in a different country.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. They're like, this is not our jurisdiction. What are we supposed to do?

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And then the fact that they want the Vancouver police to be behind this. But as we know, she was last technically seen in Alaska or on the way to Alaska from Seattle, Washington. And then there were multiple other stops in Alaska and one other BC stop. And we just don't know if she got off the ship or got back on the ship at any of these stops. So complicated. So grasping at straws and disappointed at the lack of effort from Royal Caribbean, Ken hired a private investigator. As the FBI cannot investigate cruise ship deaths or disappearances that have taken place in international waters, which is so crazy

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

to me that, like, she's an American citizen and the FBI cannot do anything about this.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

This case is really the perfect recipe for uninvestigatable. Like, this is how you get away with murder. I'm not saying that she was murdered, but if she was, like, this is how you get away with things. This. It's. It's crazy that because the cruise ship is stopping and all these different places, including between two different countries, anything could have happened between any of that. And if you're not keeping clear record, nobody knows where to look.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly. Yeah. It just seems all kind of jumbled at this point.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, through the private investigator and his own relentless sleuthing, Ken did eventually track down the supervisor who wouldn't report his daughter's disappearance. And this supervisor was actually fired for failing to report Marion's vanishing.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Good. Yeah, yeah, he shouldn't be there because

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

he was the one who was literally saying, oh, forget about it, every single day for a week. Ken explained, quote, the problem is that a good portion of the crew members are foreign nationals and it is really difficult to track them down. We did track down the supervisor Domingo had reported to. He was a Greek national, the guy they fired and got off ship as fast as they could. He was in Greece. And we actually found his residence, but he was never there. I think he was probably hired on another cruise line somewhere in the Mediterranean. Yeah, I mean, this poor family again, they're trying. Their PI is trying to track down these people, but they're fleeing to different areas. They can't contact anybody. People sign NDAs, nobody's willing to talk to them. And then, of course, I can't imagine how they felt learning that there was this mysterious manila envelope sitting on Marion's desk in her stateroom, and they don't know what was inside it.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

They are. They have no idea, you know, what the contents were. If it was perhaps a goodbye letter, AKA suicide note. We don't know, you know, but it's. Yeah, it's very, very mysterious. But it's about to get a whole lot messier here because after the Carver family retained San Francisco based private investigator Tim Schmolder, the Royal Caribbean operations manager had had enough of the Carver's probing and wouldn't allow Tim to board or search the ship. So the cruise line is essentially saying, you know, we. We don't want you investigating this, we don't want you looking for her.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

I think they just want to pretend that she didn't vanish on their ship. They don't want the bad press trying to save face or they're trying to hide something.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. In November, Tim did. So anyway, but it didn't even matter anymore because by then all evidence would have been destroyed or corrupted by staff and other guests. Now, according to Tim, the amount of time that he was able to spend aboard the ship was severely limited. He was also not permitted to speak with any of the passengers or the crew. And guess what? His access to the ship surveillance video was denied. Tim recalled, quote, my report became, you know, kind of empty of content, but full of questions. Questions as to why access wasn't allowed. Questions as to why the cabin attendant wasn't available. Questions as to why I couldn't interview the security manager for the camera system. Question after question after question. Why, why, why? Tim was able to ascertain that the windows in Marion's stateroom were latched shut, meaning that if Marion had jumped or fallen, she could not have done so from inside her cabin, as all but one report we found suggests that her room did not have a balcony.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, apparently it didn't. Even Domingo has said that she didn't have a balcony, which I think really will change the idea of what could have happened to her for a lot of people, knowing that she couldn't have just simply fallen off her own balcony or jumped from it because she didn't have one.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

You had to leave your room in order for that to even happen.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And of course, there are many decks aboard the ship that somebody can fall or jump from, but that's out in a public space. And she wasn't really leaving her room. And of course, we know that the clothes that she had with her really were just her bra, underwear and a kind of see through blouse.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

But I will say on top of this, like, it doesn't appear that this would be some sort of accidental fall either from like alcohol or something. Because we know she wasn't drinking because we talked about this in another case where, you know, it could be, it could have happened that this person that we were talking about could have drank too much and fallen off of their own balcony.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Not the case here.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

That's not the case here. Because first of all, she doesn't have a balcony. And second of all, she really wasn't drinking.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

She just ordered two sandwiches.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And you can't bring your own alcohol on cruises. And she barely had anything with her anyway.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, according to representatives for Royal Caribbean, there was an open air deck just two floors above Marion's room. So they believe that it's likely that she left her room at some point in the late night of August 28th or the early morning hours of August 29th, wearing the only clothing that was not recovered, which again, was her bra, underwear, and sheer blouse. Then maybe she had gone up to the upper deck and leapt into the sea without anybody noticing. Because strangely, none of the 3,000 people aboard the ship had seen or heard anything. Tim asked to view the security footage, but was told that it was deleted every 12 days. You know, this is somewhat standard for security footage, especially back in 2004, and they apparently told him that it was already gone by then.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

However, Ken had actually asked for this when he first reported his daughter missing. And despite being told that it was already deleted, the footage would have been within the time frame of being recoverable, meaning they just didn't want anybody to see it.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

And it gets worse.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, because later Tim discovered that the footage actually wasn't erased until 30 days after it was recorded. So by the time that Tim Schmolder, the PI sought this footage, it was too late. But when Ken did, it wasn't.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, so they essentially. They fucking lied to him. They lied to Ken.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. They didn't want to give him this footage, which, oh, my God, imagine if we had that. It would show us where she went on the ship. This is everything. And they didn't want to give it up, apparently. So Ken then hired a team of lawyers who subpoenaed the cruise line employees. However, the supervisor had already been fired and he has never been publicly named. With frustration, Ken said, quote, all along the way, they've been lying to us and leading us down a path. And I say it's tough to lose a daughter, let alone be dealing with a cover up.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, who knows exactly what happened to Marion, but the fact that they're not being forthcoming with Ken, they're not telling him, they're not giving him any information, it feels very much like a cover up.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

I truly believe if the cruise line had cooperated from the beginning and given Ken what he asked for, we would know where Marian was and what happened to her.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, I agree.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, the hotel manager on board, Christos Hadi Zipatrisk, reported having heard from Domingo that Marian had not been in her room, but didn't realize that she was actually considered missing until he received an email from Marion's family three weeks after the cruise, because, of course, her family didn't know either. Christos also brushed her disappearance off, saying, quote, you know, on a cruise ship, people, they meet other people, and it's often that they don't want to spend time in their room. This is the blanket statement for everybody. He later told lawyers for The Carver family quote, I mean, it's a vacation, and people spend it the way that they like, and we do not like to interfere in their personal life. Marion's parents became particularly interested in the theory that perhaps she. She had been with someone else, having met up with a man on the cruise, and perhaps even planning the trip together. Like, maybe this wasn't a solo cruise. Maybe she just wanted to spend alone time with somebody else.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Right. And maybe that's the reason why she didn't really tell anybody about it. You know, she's like. She's just trying to hide the fact that, you know, obviously these are. This is all speculation. We don't know if she had planned a trip with some other person. Obviously, the timing seems weird and, like, truly how sudden it really was, you know?

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, so her family's trying to figure this out. So they asked Royal Caribbean for a passenger manifest and were particularly interested in finding out which guests were also from the Boston area. But, of course, this request was not fulfilled, which, like, okay, fair enough. But that's something that police should have been on top of, you know, like, getting. Exactly, though, interestingly, her parents were given an alphabetical list of names, about 2,000 people. So all the passengers, both. No contact information and no data about where each passenger had traveled from. So this would really only come in handy if they happen to know, like, having to recognize one of these 2,000 names that they have to go through,

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

which just seems like the, like, the hardest thing to have to do.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

You know, that is not my job. This is for the police, and they're not doing it because there's all these issues with jurisdiction. Nobody knows who should take this over. Royal Caribbean's response via their spokesman Michael Sheehan, claimed, quote, the sad reality is that in any case where parents lose a child, even an adult child, there's probably nothing we or any company could do that would make the parents feel the company had acted sensitively enough, which really pisses me off because you guys are actually doing nothing.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. You're not doing anything at all.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

So they're saying, well, we probably couldn't have done anything that would make the parents happy. Maybe try a little bit and that would be something.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, just do one little fucking thing. That's all you got to do. Well, through the law firm, the Carver family retained Blake and associates. They were able to depose Domingo and the head of the hotel operations for the Mercury. On January 16th and 17th of 2005, the law firm finally interviewed them via phone. Depositions four and a half months after Marion vanished. But the lawyers cost the carver family over $75,000. Ken later reported, quote, On February 9th, we received only one item from two subpoenas that had been issued. And that was a poor quality picture of Marion getting on the boat, which

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

is like, we know she was on the boat. That's not what we need. Yeah, I mean, I guess it's good to confirm that it was her, but still.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

So, and then he continues, he says, so we took the direction of going directly to the board of directors of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line with all the depositions showing the COVID up, hoping that we could jumpstart action concerning her case. Well, according to Royal Caribbean, the ship began its own investigation at the end of September after a Cambridge detective contacted ship officials. But they concluded that her death was most likely a suicide and declined to investigate any other possibility. Now, critics of the suicide theory, including Marion's parents, cite multiple issues with this as a possible explanation for her whereabouts. As we know, Marian booked a ticket from Vancouver back to Boston, which would have been a very odd choice if she knew that she wouldn't be coming back. It's also surprising that nobody saw or heard a barefoot woman in very little clothing heading upstairs to jump off the deck, even if it had been late at night and perhaps that manila envelope had merely been lost. But if not, and if it had in fact contained a suicide note, why was it concealed by the cruise line if it may have proven their conjecture about what really happened to Marion? Well, unfortunately for Marian's family, representatives from Royal Caribbean learned that she was divorced four years before her disappearance and that custody had been awarded to her husband, which only made them push harder for suicide. But according to her family, she was not suicidal, nor had she been in the past. Even so, the Royal Caribbean Group released another statement that read as follows. And this is going to. This is going to piss you guys off. It says, quote, Mrs. Carver had severe emotional problems, had attempted suicide before, and appear to have committed suicide on our ship. The death of Marion Carver is a horrible tragedy, but regrettably, there is very little a cruise line, a resort or a hotel can do to prevent someone from committing suicide. So they are unequivocally stating that Marion Carver committed suicide on their ship.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's just so inappropriate.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it's disgusting.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's like the fact that they're saying it like it's fact and airing her dirty laundry like that just to save their own backs. It's. It's disgusting, honestly.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it's. It's terrible. Why Would you even, you know, I would rather them just not even put out a statement at that point. If you're just gonna, you're going against the, the family, you're not doing anything, and now you're just telling everybody. Well, yeah, she just, that's what she did. She just committed suicide. That was it. Terrible. While Marion's family was devastated that Marion had been all but declared dead via the cruise line that chose to conceal the fact that she disappeared in the first place, Marion's father, Ken, said with frustration, quote, that's the standard response, you know, if they knew it was a suicide, then show us that it was a suicide. Give us the evidence. During Ken's desperate pursuit of answers in the aftermath of his daughter's disappearance, one former crew member from the Mercury alleged that he knew of Marion and that she had been having a relationship. But guess with, guess with who? With an unidentified crew member. Suspicious. But it's unknown if this lead was ever investigated or if the name of the crew member was ever revealed, which

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

is tough because, you know, all the doors on board lock electronically. Like there were no manual locks and there were also no chain locks. So if a staff member wanted to get into her room, they could have. So this would be really important to know as well. Was she hanging out with somebody in on the staff and were they able to access her room when she didn't want them to?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And by the way, earlier when we discussed her ex husband's wealth, I mostly wanted to bring that up because there's no report that he used his wealth or his status to look for her. I'm not like trying to blame him or put this on him, of course, but there's really no discourse online about this either, which I think is so interesting because of everything that he has and all the resources that he has.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Also the fact that this is, you know, the mother of his child missing. It's like you would think maybe especially with just, you know, how wealthy he really was.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

We don't obviously know the situation between their, their marriage and the custody agreement and all that, but, you know, you would think that he would do something for the mother of his child and put something into it, but no reports suggest that he did. So I just kind of wanted to mention that. Well, unfortunately for over two decades now, there have been no leads in Marian's disappearance. Of course, the facts are hard to ignore. Marian booked the cruise without telling anybody. She brought almost nothing with her and may have even left a note in a mysterious envelope which could be the answer to everyone's questions. But regardless of what happened, Royal Caribbean's behavior in the aftermath of Marion's disappearance is shocking and appalling.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, to say the least.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

To say the least. Well, in 2005, the Carver family sued Royal Caribbean and they settled out of court for an undisclosed settlement. According to Ken's findings, an average of 20 to 25 people go overboard or are reported missing on cruise ships worldwide every single year. Among 30 million people who take cruises every year, which is, you know, pretty much like a minuscule fraction of 1% of people every year, though still, it happens every year and is very rarely

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

reported, which is also pretty crazy because when you think about like air travel and just really how safe air travel actually is, to think that 20 to 25 people just go missing or they fall overboard on cruises each year, it's

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

like, what's, what's up with that? Where they go?

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

That's so crazy because you would, you would think being on a cruise ship would be so much safer than flying, but no, that's actually just not true.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, I guess it makes sense because it's not like one person can fall out of a plane.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, true.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But if you're open air on the sea and somebody's drunk enough or decides that that is where they want to take their life. Makes sense. But it is also crazy because we never hear about it.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. And just the fact that it's 20 to 25 people every year, but fraction.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But it is also like that kind

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

of feels like a lot. It does feel like a lot.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, he also discovered that about 10% of cruisegoers have reported witnessing or being the victim of some type of crime, either minor or major, on board a ship. And it is so unregulated, like I hinted at earlier, that it is almost too easy to get away with because of the lapse in jurisdiction. A couple years after Marion went missing in 2006, human bones washed ashore on Mary island in British Columbia, which is a small island located in the Strait of Georgia, about two hours northwest of Vancouver, which of course was the final stop on the cruise. And they were discovered near Half Moon Bay by the lighthouse keeper on December 30, 2006. Of course, there were suspicions that the remains belonged to Marion Carver. So Canadian authorities requested that Ken, her dad, offer up a DNA sample in order to compare the two. And it would take until 2015, so. So nine years later. But via DNA analysis, they were finally linked to a missing Vancouver woman named Monica Tam. 65 year old Monica Tam had been missing since 2006, which is, of course, when the remains were found.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

But her disappearance wasn't reported until the following year. So it's really great because it at least brought closure for her family, who had been looking for her for almost a decade. But no answers came for Marians.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Which is just so sad. To this day, they still do not have any answers. Well, Marion's family moved her belongings out of her home and wound up donating most of them. In March of 2005, they finally held a memorial for their daughter, believing that she was most likely deceased and concluding that they would most likely never know her fate for certain. For years, Ken maintained almost daily contact with the Coast Guard, the FBI, the police, in hopes of finding his daughter. But, of course, she was never found. In 2006, he founded International Cruise Victims, which is still active to this day. And it's a. It's an organization that offers assistance and resources to those who have had family members lost or murdered on cruise ships or for employees or guests of ships that have been the victims of sexual assault. Well, Ken searched for his daughter up until December of 2019, when he passed away after a brief illness. The boat on which Marion sailed is still in operation to this day, but as of 2026, the ship operates as the Marella Voyager under the Morella Cruise Line. Marion Carver would now be 62 years old. She stood at 5ft, 7 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds. She had red hair and hazel eyes. So if you have any information about her disappearance, please contact the Alaska State Troopers at 907-26-9551.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I wish that there was a little bit more here. I wish that we still had that manila envelope.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's just. It's crazy that that one envelope could. I mean, it could have been a tip for the assistant. It could have been anything. It could have been a document that she had brought with her. Like, that's what's so frustrating about it. It's a lot of nothing.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, exactly. But I think a lot of people's heads go to. Was this some sort of suicide note, and did she choose to, you know, take her life?

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

Which I agree that it's very possible that it could have been, but without knowing what was inside it. You know, I think also the fact that she had left the tip for Domingo is really interesting because he didn't take the tip previously. So if she did take her own life. It could have been like, here's my letter, Here's a tip for you. Thank you for helping me. But it's impossible to say because we don't know. Nobody saw what happened. We actually covered a case, a bonus episode recently, George Smith, and with that case, not really a spoiler, but he went overboard and there was blood on the side of the ship that proved that he went overboard.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

We don't have anything like that. It doesn't have to happen. You don't have to hit something on the way down. But I don't know. There's. We don't have any answers. The fact that the cruise line was being so suspicious, the fact that she may have been hanging out with somebody on board, like a guest or a staff member.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Like I was going to say, too many questions. I was going to say the bigger issue here is not the fact that, you know, whether or not she went overboard. I mean, obviously that is an issue. But the bigger issue is the fact that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines didn't do anything. The fact that they. They could have shown that security footage and given closure. They could have done an investigation and they just didn't do that.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

It's disappointing because also if they didn't do that because they worried themselves that there could have been a crime and they wanted to avoid it, they could have actually proved their own theory. Right. And I wonder if they viewed it like, because she was reported missing within the window of when they still had the footage. So, yeah, for a minute they still had the footage. So did they look at it? And that's why they didn't give it up, because they knew what was on it and it went against their theory. Like, so many questions. So thank you guys so much for tuning into this episode.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, let us know what you guys think about this episode. Also, if you want to see photos of Marianne, head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram @goingwestpodcast. We're also on Facebook as well as TikTok.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

And don't forget, if you're not watching on YouTube right now, you can find us on YouTube where we put photos up for, you know, every. Every time that we're talking about something, we have a photo for it up, so you guys don't have to check later on. It's kind of fun to just. I've noticed since we started doing video that I've been watching other people's videos more on YouTube and now it's so fun. Like at the end of the night. Instead of putting on some movie or some show and you don't know what to watch, just put us on and kind of watch us like a TV show.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

There you go.

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

So thank you guys so much. We'll see you next time.

[Heath (Podcast Co-host)]

All right guys. So for everybody out there in the

[Daphne (Podcast Co-host)]

world, don't be a stranger,

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