Kelley Marie Ferguson
Date: April 22, 2003
Cruise Bruise: Mass Shipwide Death Threat
Bruise Location: Ensenada, Mexico
Age: 20
Home Town: Laguna Hills, California
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Ship: Legend Of The Seas
Details:
A woman who wanted to leave a cruise ship to return to her boyfriend in California spent a night in a federal detention center, charged with threatening to kill everyone aboard the ship to cut the cruise short.
Ferguson who was traveling with family members was charged with two counts of threatening acts of terrorism. Each count carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.
The cruise ship was on a 10-day trip departed from Ensenada, Mexico, when crew members found two handwritten notes on April 22 and 23, according to the charges. Both notes stated that if the ship docked in a U.S. port, the nearly 2,400 passengers and crew would all die.
After the second note was found, authorities diverted the ship to Oahu waters and a 120-member task force of federal, state and military personnel searched the ship and interviewed people on board.
The ship was searched for biological, chemical, radiological and explosive weapons, but nothing was found and the ship's cruise resumed on April 24.
Ferguson confessed the following day during an interview.
She said that she never wanted to go on this cruise with her family and that she wrote these notes hoping that it would shorten her time on the cruise, thereby allowing her to rejoin her boyfriend at home.
Cruise Ship Passenger Assault
Kelley Marie Ferguson - Mass Assault Threat
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines - April 22, 2003
