FBI investigating after body of 59-year-old woman who fell overboard from luxury cruise ship washes ashore

  • Woman fell from the Seabourn Quest about 7 p.m. Friday
  • Occurred around 10 miles off Cape Ann, Massachusetts
  • Body was found by a fisherman about 8.30 p.m.
  • Woman has not been identified and an autopsy will now be completed 
  • The small cruise specializes in spa treatments, fine dining, wine and yoga 

By Associated Press Reporter and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 05:14 EST, 14 September 2015 | Updated: 11:56 EST, 14 September 2015

The U.S. Coast Guard says the FBI is investigating after the body of a woman who fell off a cruise ship was pulled from waters off the coast of Massachusetts.

The Portland Press Herald reports the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office plans to perform an autopsy on the 59-year-old's body.

The Coast Guard says it received a distress call around 7 p.m. Friday saying the woman had fallen overboard the Seabourn Quest when the ship was about 10 miles off Cape Ann. 

Scene: Police recover the body of a 59-year-old woman who that was pulled from the water Friday night after she fell from a cruise ship about 10 miles off Cape Ann. The FBI has taken over the investigation 

Scene: Police recover the body of a 59-year-old woman who that was pulled from the water Friday night after she fell from a cruise ship about 10 miles off Cape Ann. The FBI has taken over the investigation 

The Coast Guard got the call about the passenger going overboard on the Seabourn Quest at 7 p.m. and the body was found by a fisherman about 8.30 p.m. 

The Coast Guard got the call about the passenger going overboard on the Seabourn Quest at 7 p.m. and the body was found by a fisherman about 8.30 p.m. 

The Coast Guard says the FBI has taken over the investigation into the death of a woman who fell off a cruise ship on Friday night in 'rough and messy seas'

The Coast Guard says the FBI has taken over the investigation into the death of a woman who fell off a cruise ship on Friday night in 'rough and messy seas'

They say the ship left Boston on Friday afternoon and was bound for Bar Harbor, Maine.

A statement released by the FBI in Boston  at the weekend stated it has jurisdiction 'over any incident on the high seas', the area located outside of state and local waters, according to The Boston Globe.

An FBI spokeswoman says her agency has nothing more to say about the investigation until the autopsy is completed.

The identity and hometown of the woman have not been released.

The Seabourn Quest is a small, 650-foot cruise ship specializing in luxury spa treatments, fine dining and wine, and yoga.

The cruise the woman was on costs about $4,999 per person, according to the Seabourn Quest website. 

The Seabourn Quest is a small cruise ship offering gourmet dining and fine wine, spa treatments, yoga, swimming, and other activities 

The Seabourn Quest is a small cruise ship offering gourmet dining and fine wine, spa treatments, yoga, swimming, and other activities 

The ship departed Boston Friday on a 10-day cruise to Montreal, but was due to stop in Bar Harbor, Maine 

The ship departed Boston Friday on a 10-day cruise to Montreal, but was due to stop in Bar Harbor, Maine 

The ship was headed to Montreal, but was headed for a stop in Bar Harbor when the woman fell around 7 p.m.

The Seabourn initially launched its our search and was quickly joined by the local Coast Guard.

The conditions at the time were described as 'rough and messy seas' and it was also dark.

A Rockport swordfisherman in the area called the Coast Guard about an hour later saying he had located a body in the water.

The body was then recovered around 8.30 p.m.

 

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