How far would you go to see your significant other?
For many going on a cruise, especially one to Hawaii, would be a trip of a lifetime. However, one woman went to great lengths to attempt to cut her cruise, and that of everyone on board, short.
In 2003, a California woman decided that cruising on the Legend of the Seas with her family was not really where she wanted to be. I’m not exactly sure what went through her mind when she came up with her plan to cut the 10-day cruise short, but the results of her actions landed her in prison.
I’m not going to give this woman’s name, because I don’t like to give any fame, infamous or not, to criminals. Besides, she has served her sentence at this point.
This 20-year-old female came up with a plan to cut the cruise from California to Hawaii short as a way to get back to her boyfriend who had been left out of the family vacation. Her parents didn’t approve of the relationship between their daughter and her longtime boyfriend, and she had not revealed to them that she was pregnant. Instead of being upfront with her family, she chose to write a couple of anonymous notes and leave them in public bathrooms. What did the notes say?
The first handwritten note read: “I HAVE BEEN SENT ON A MISSION TO KILL ALL AMERICANOS ABORD LEGEND IF WE PORT ON AMERICAN SOIL.” The second message reiterated the threat.
After the notes were found by crew, the ship was turned back to waters off Honolulu in order for over 120 FBI agents, military police, 40 bomb sniffing dogs, and the Coast Guard to board the ship to investigate. The cost for the U.S. Coast Guard’s portion of the investigation alone was reported at $336,000.
The female eventually admitted to writing the notes after telling her father she had found a note and thrown it away. He urged her to go to the investigators with the information where her story quickly fell apart, forcing her to admit the truth.
The prosecuting attorney said, “I find very disturbing that after causing all this fear, excitement and concern, the defendant never showed any degree of regret or remorse.”
I cannot image being one of the 2400 passengers and crew aboard the Legend. Everyone on board were in the process of being interviewed and their luggage inspected when the hoax was finally revealed. Due to the ship being diverted, passengers lost out on various scheduled excursions.
Despite the charges being punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 under the USA Patriot Act, in the end she was sentenced to two years in prison with three years of supervised release.
I spent some time trying to find out whatever happened to the couple, did they stay together? But I never could find any information from a legitimate source. On Reddit, someone who claimed to be on the Legend when this happened said the boyfriend eventually left her, so take that as you will.
Cruising From The Ozarks 