Family searching for answers months after man disappears from cruise ship
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SILVERTON, Ore. – A family is still looking for answers months after a Silverton man disappeared from a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
Jason Rappe, 42, was last seen on a Holland America cruise with his wife last November.
His brother says they still don’t know what happened to Jason, and the company refuses to give them any information.
Searchers never found Jason's body, just his Pittsburgh Steelers cap on the top deck of the ship.
“That particular piece of information is the thing that tears me apart the most,” said Eric Rappe. “Jason never took off his hat, ever.”
Eric said he knows his brother well enough to believe he’s not someone who would jump overboard, as the cruise company claimed.
“I’m sure that every family says that with a suicide in their family. No doubt in my mind. No one wants to believe that could happen. But there’s just no doubt in my mind that that is not what happened.”
Jason had just survived a battle with cancer that took one of his eyes, Eric said. After a rough couple of years, Jason and his wife Tina were excited to relax on the cruise.
On the night he disappeared, Jason was last seen at a bar with his wife, Eric said. She was on the dance floor when he told another passenger he was going to the restroom and walked outside.
He hasn’t been seen since.
“He disappeared I think 80 miles outside of St. Thomas,” Eric said.
Searchers found Jason’s hat on the top deck during a full search of the ship.
“They kept going for four hours, Even after they found his hat.”
Eric said Holland America never gave his family any answer to what happened. He thinks the company is trying to keep his brother’s disappearance quiet.
“They don’t care. They just don’t care. All they want is for it to go away.”
A Holland America representative told KATU News he’s waiting on management to respond to a request for a comment. In December, the company said in a statement that their thoughts and prayers were with the Rappe family.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida still lists Jason as a missing person.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Eric. “I cry about it every day.”
My condolence to the family.
I wish the wife had been interviewed, she was with him.  Did they have a little argument? Was Jason feeling sad or jealous, she was on the dance (floor not alone?) when he vanished. It seems very odd that a man would fight and beat cancer, pay all this money for a vacation  and the cruise, to then jump over board...but on the other hand, perhaps he was also depressed about the cancer, feeling depression over losing his eye...drinking and getting more down  and then watching his pretty wife having fun on the dance floor, perhaps that pushed him over the edge and he jumped, leaving behind his hat as a sign.
I am also unsure what exactly the family expects Holland America to do??? It is a cruise line, not a paid babysitter. When I vacation, I wouldn't want my every step and movement recorded on a video camera. Sure, the unknown would be hard for the family but IF the cruise line had a video camera, would the family REALLY want to sit and watch the footage of their beloved brother, husband, uncle and son jumping over board and taking his own life?Â
Note to Katu, poorly done story. Why did you not do more research before running the story? Only the brother's side of things???....where was the wife's side? What was his mental state when he walked on to the ship. When did the wife report him missing? What did the ship do when he was reported missing? He told another passenger that he was going to the men's room, where did you get that information and why did you not interview that person??? Plus (with all due respect to the family) It's a boat, you get on it, you float around, you get off....some one didn't get off, he jumped (or a stranger on the ship pushed him) they weren't in the Bermuda Triangle, so please explain why this is a worthy news story?
To Eric and family. Â My heart goes out to you. Â I would feel the same way if a loved one just disappeared on a cruise. Â I don't understand why some people are posting jokes and/or rude/cold comments. Â If they only had a heart. Â
The accompanying photo shows a guy with a Pittsburgh Steelers logo on his fake eye. Perhaps he took off his hat before he jumped because he didn't want to get it wet? Perhaps the family can engage a psychic or medium to try and make contact with him to find out what happened? At least this didn't come from AP, but only KATU on an apparently slow news day?Â
@jpk please if you are going to try and say something offensive about my brother or my family, try to make an ounce of sense.
So many people fall off the ships that to me it's unbelievable. I saw the mans interview on the news, and i came away a little confused at what he was trying to imply. I'm almost wondering if he's trying to say that someone ( be it passenger or crew member) threw his brother overboard. You are not alone. Many people don't know how their loved one fell off the ship. I suspect it's just that. He fell off the ship.
@myopinion240Â The reason i wanted this in the press is to bring light to the cover-up. We don't know what happened. it could have been any of a thousand different things. Our problem is that the cruise lines began lying and hiding things from the first second. they report things that are simply not true. He may have fallen, or been helped, we will never know because Holland America is covering it up. Â There is nothing I can do to bring Jason back, but I can certainly be a voice for him, and try to bring light to this constant problem (this is FAR from the first time) and help pass legislation to make these vacations safe.
@Eric Rappe'Â @myopinion240Â I, too, am very sorry about your brother. Â I can't imagine how you're feeling but I do understand the not knowing the truth side of things.
While I'm not defending the cruise line or its actions, people need to understand that these ships aren't governed by the laws of the United States and, as such, aren't subject to U.S. laws until they are in a U.S. port (or enter U.S. waters).
The same could be said of many foreign countries -- some U.S. citizen goes missing. Â The country doesn't have an obligation to tell the family anything (or even look for the person if they don't want to or don't have the financial resources to do so). Â At least there we usually have the U.S. Consulate to rely on and hope that the relationship between the two countries is significant enough to warrant concern.
Cruise ships really are, essentially, floating lawless villages comprised of clans. Â Once in international waters, all bets are off. Â If you're rolling on the floor drunk and still want another, they'll be more than happy to serve (and charge) you. Â They don't care. Â They want their money any way they can get it (same with on-board casinos). Â You'll only get cut off if you run out of money. Â They have security on board but I rarely have seen them. Â Its usually other passengers who intervene.
Mr. Rappe, I hope you get at least some answers but the odds are strongly against that. Â And, once you do get anything from the cruise line, they're going to slap you with a gag order and not allow you to discuss the matter any further -- which, in turn, limits your ability to affect national and international laws.
As a side note, once you're on board, you're given a bracelet and/or a room key which allows you access to your room, the ability to make purchases, etc. Â It wouldn't surprise me if they couldn't (or don't already) have some type of GPS embedded microchip transmitter that alerts the ship crew of your whereabouts at any given time. Â It wouldn't cost much more and it would give the cruise line more control over your access (and their financial interest in you personally). Â If you or your lawyer(s) haven't asked about this, it might be one more avenue to pursue in order to get at least a few questions answered.
@Eric Rappe'Â @myopinion240Â Sorry about your brother -Â it seems to me that if he did choose to end his own life, he may well have taken off his beloved hat in lieu of a note - kind of a "sorry, goodbye" gesture. I hope you can find peace.
Let's see, an ego maniac Captain managed to steer one of these ships into the rocks, another has broken down, leaving passengers to wade through raw sewage, people falling overboard. What next? I also viewed a television segment where ship staff were interviewed and spoke about the quest to push large amounts of alcohol. Just doesn't seem like a safe travel choice. Â
Let's see, he staggered out of the bar, went to relieve himself over the railing and drunkenly fell overboard. Sorry folks, but everytime we find a hat on the top deck, we stop the cruise and search the whole ocean to see if somebody fell in.
im never going on a cruise. too many people disappear.
@NWnative Well, I've been on four cruises now and no one has disappeared from them.
But I also personally know two people who have disappeared (and have yet to be found) doing normal, everyday activities on the land. Â In Oregon.
Why don't these cruise ships put security cameras in? This happens often enough, it wouldn't cost them that much. They should at least have them in areas where people can jump or get thrown overboard. I wouldn't get on one of those cruises if they paid me.
@QuandoQuandoQuando Oh, they DO have security cameras everywhere.  They just have no legal reason to turn over what is on them if they happen to catch something interesting (whether it is a marriage proposal or a murder).
@QuandoQuandoQuando So then we'd have a pretty picture of someone
going into the drink. What good's that? Do you want someone watching
constantly? Some people probably go on Cruises to get away from things
like surveillance cameras.
Side comment to this very sad story but...
is that a glass eye with a Steelers logo instead of an iris? Heard of a guy who had a Cubs logo put on his or something- it does not look like a regular iris.
@WhenCowsAttackÂ
I saw that too. I didn't recognize it as their logo (nice catch) Â it looks like stars to me. I've seen several "designer' replacement eyes like that. They have the contacts too with cats eyes & swirls etc.. I like the idea of offering a custom choice for people that have lost an eye.Â
@WhenCowsAttack I guess you don't know how to read, since it says in the article what happened to his eye.
@QuandoQuandoQuando @WhenCowsAttack *how*
@QuandoQuandoQuando @WhenCowsAttack Or perhaps YOU don't know how to read, since I asked specifically whether it was a Steelers logo, not whether he lost it.
@WhenCowsAttack I noticed the same thing., watched the video,  apparently he lost his eye to cancer.
While working on ships like this in the ship yards the fresh water tank about 30ft by 20ft we would go in and see 3 inches of green slime on the walls.
They would say "" It's ok we don't care ""
Just fix what we asked for...
@yesiamÂ
Better than the one that I worked on that had a leak between the potable water tank into the cofferdam that had a hole in the grease trap and a cracked and leaking weld in the gray water tank. The owners didn't want to fix that one either. every morning there would be three feet of water in the cofferdam that had to be pumped out before work could start on the valve that we were repairing.
The "Blue Hat" line is about the cleanest of the cruise fleet. They even have tours of the food prep areas for those passengers that are really bored. For those that wonder, most of the public areas have cameras, but aren't monitered 24/7
Very sad story, and if I have to break it down I will. Shipâ¦.Ship is in waterâ¦.Jason was on ship that was in waterâ¦. Jason no longer on ship so Jason must be in water. Come on family it is not that hard. The real challenge is to determine if there is foul play, or was it an accident? Regardless my condolences.
@dkgiovenco I never said we did not think he was in the water. I said we don't know what happened and the cruise lines are covering it up.Â
@Eric Rappe' When I made my first comment it was not mean to refute anything you were saying, sorry if it was taken that way.
@Eric Rappe' I'm so very sorry for your loss. I truly hope that some day some how you'll be able to find some answers and find some closure to this matter. Â
One theory might be that negligence on behalf of the ship or operator led to him dying and they covered it up. Would be simple enough "dump the body over the side and we'll call it suicide".
@Oregon7812Â Plausible
@dkgiovenco Maybe he's in a water tank?
...on the ship.
" The push to always keep the show on the road without long delays causes the same problems in investigations of passenger disappearances, shipboard crimes and gastrointestinal illnesses. These investigations are often rushed so the cruise is held up for as little time as possible. Cruise ships theoretically follow guidelines set forth by the International Maritime Organization and the recommendations in the Safety of Life at Sea. But the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations organization, does not have the authority to enforce its own guidelines, nor can it impose fines or criminal sanctions against cruise lines that flout Safety of Life at Sea recommendations. This obligation falls to flag states, like Panama."   via CNN news article. Â
With no ways to enforce the few laws and guidelines set forth for cruise lines, the chances of ever finding out what truly happened to this man are next to zero. Be careful when you book one of these cruises - you might be sorry in the long run.
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@TheUglyTruth Yours or his??
I would have considered a cruise 10 years ago, but not anymore. International waters, lack of jurisdiction, violent crimes that the cruise companies try to keep secret.....no thank you. I would feel better in a third world country on vacation, with a police dept that may/may not be somewhat corrupt, than to trust the security of my family to a corporate entity that registers their vessels in Panama to avoid US regulations.....
Don't forget about everpresent Norovirus and bed bugs!
Someone knows something!!!
@Oregon7812Â Maybe the guy that's not a Steelers fan?
I will never go on a cruise ship vacation, there are many dirty little secrets and I prefer to avoid learning about them first hand.
I hope they figure out what happened to the guy, must be terrible.
@KATUNews that's strange but it's a big ocean
The Carribbean is not an ocean. You shouldn't be able to just disappear at sea.
@Oregon7812Â Sheeesh!Â
@Oregon7812Â The Caribbean Sea is part of the Atlantic Ocean, so the statement is correct.
Cheerfully withdrawn!