Family of Disney crew member sue cruise line over her disappearance
The parents of a British woman who went missing at sea from a Disney cruise ship where she was working as a crew member are suing the company for $75,000 (£45,000).
Youth worker Rebecca Coriam, 24, went missing from the Disney Wonder off the coast of Mexico three years ago. She was last seen shortly before dawn on March 22 2011 when cCTV footage captured her making a phone call to a friend from the staff quarters. The alarm was raised four hours later when she failed to turn for the start of her shift.
Her parents Mike and Ann Coriam from Chester have filed papers against Disney claiming the entertainment giant failed in its duty of care.
They claim Disney Cruise Lines acted negligently in waiting more than four hours to alert the US Coastguard, more than five hours to contact the Mexican navy and nearly seven hours to call the Bahamas police.
Mr and Mrs Coriam claimed that Disney gave "false and misleading" information about the ship’s position when it alerted the coastguard.
They allege that Disney’s security to monitor crew members and passengers was inadequate, as was its surveillance for a person falling overboard.
Mr and Mrs Coriam also claim that the company breached established protocols for a person overboard.
A spokeswoman for Disney Cruise Lines said: "This incident has been investigated by the authorities. The claims are without merit, as we will demonstrate in court."
When they started their legal action a year ago, the Coriams told one newspaper they believed there had been a cover-up.
Mrs Coriam told the Liverpool Echo: "People do not just disappear off a massive cruise liner and absolutely no one knows anything about what happened. We think there was a cover-up – we just have to prove it now."
Her family set up the Rebecca Coriam Search Foundation to finance an investigation into her disappearance.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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