Steven L. Manning
Cruise Ship Passenger Missing At Sea
Carnival Cruise Lines Victory - April 24, 2008
Steven Manning

Date: April 22, 2008
Cruise Bruise: Missing
Bruise Location: Off Cozumel, Mexico
Age: 44
Home Town: Ottawa, Illinois
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Victory
Details:
Ottawa, Illinois is a blue-collar town 130 kilometres southwest of Chicago.

A Myspace page for the tavern, has details on Manning's business. The site description of the tavern says, "With a beer garden and great beer prices, Chuggers is a great place to hang out. There is a DJ on Fridays. You can listen to music, dance, or head to the back room for a game of pool. Then on Saturdays come enjoy live bands. We are open til 3am on Saturday for those of you who like that extra hour."

The tavern has their menu on the Myspace profile main page.

The Myspace account, began in May 2006, shows the last login as April 22, 2008, the day Manning went missing. Was it Manning, or somebody else?

The last friend comment on the account was on Sep 16 2007 1:13 PM. of Chugger'z Bar and Grill Myspace account has 49 friends.

The bar sponsors a softball team run by Manning friend Jen Troccoli. She called Manning on Monday, forgetting he was on a cruise and spoke with him at that time. She says that he was cheerful and sounded like he was having a great time.

The Myspace account indicates that Manning is single, though news reports say he is married. Updated reports say that Manning married his wife Tara back in September 2007.

Chuggerz was the Zeller Inn Pub & Eatery, known as a biker bar in biker circles. It is described as a Historical 1800s saloon, owned at that time by Del and Julie.

The Mannings had left on their cruise on Sunday April 20th, the day after Mr. Manning's 44th birthday. The ship is due back in port on April 27th.

This case is unfolding, please check back.

UPDATE: May 1, 2008

Tera Manning says her husband's death was no accident, and there was no way Steven took his own life. She thinks her husband met with foul play after going to the casino in the wee hours of the morning while Tera slept in their cabin.

"I just want my husband to come home!" said Tera Manning. "I think somebody did something to him. My husband liked to flash his money."

The FBI says unfortunately there were not enough security cameras aboard Victory, so there are lapses in time where no cameras saw Manning aboard that fateful night.

Mrs. Manning was not thrilled with the Carnival response saying, "I think they're trying to sweep everything under the carpet," Tera Manning said. "I think they're trying to make it go away."
Did you see this man on
Carnival Victory?
Steven Manning was aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Victory on an Eastern Caribbean cruise when he went missing about 40 miles off the shore of Cozumel, Mexico.

Manning was reported missing by his wife, when she failed to find him after as prolonged period of time. He was last seen abour 1am on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. coast guard began searching for Manning at day break, after he had been missing for several hours, but after no luck, called off the search today. Manning went missing on Tuesday April 22th. The USCG searched more than 1,500 square miles of ocean during the search.

A source close to the family who works at the La Salle County Courthouse, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Manning owned and operated Chuggerz at 615 Columbus St, Ottawa, IL in downtown Ottawa.