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FBI investigates 'suspicious death' of cruise ship passenger

The 44-year-old woman, who was not identified in the FBI’s announcement, died on a 5-day cruise from South Carolina to the Bahamas.
Carnival Sunshine
The Carnival Sunshine.Danny Lehman / Carnival Corporations & PLC

The FBI is investigating the "suspicious death" of a woman who was on a five -day cruise from South Carolina to the Bahamas, the agency announced.

The 44-year-old woman, who was not identified by name in the announcement, died on a voyage to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, the FBI's field office in Columbia, South Carolina, said Sunday.

The cruise left Charleston on Feb. 27, said Matt Lupoli, Carnival Cruise Line's senior manager of public relations. She most likely died early Feb. 28, said Kevin Wheeler, a public affairs specialist for the FBI's Columbia field office.

Medical staff and crew members attempted lifesaving measures, the FBI said.

The woman had been traveling with her husband, Lupoli said. Her husband got off the cruise in Nassau on March 1, and her remains were also removed, he said.

FBI's evidence investigators processed the passenger's room once the ship returned to Charleston as planned on Saturday, the agency said.

The FBI said that the death was an isolated incident and that other passengers faced no threat before or after the woman was found dead.

Nobody is in custody, Wheeler said. He said he could not comment on the circumstances of the woman's death or on any information about her husband or the status of the autopsy.

Lupoli said in a statement that authorities in the Bahamas "have already investigated the circumstances and are conducting an autopsy" and that Carnival is "fully cooperating."

"This is a matter for authorities in The Bahamas and Charleston and we have no further comments," Lupoli said.

Spokespeople for the Royal Bahamas Police Force could not immediately be reached for comment.