Dad of Cheerleader Who Died on Cruise Is Being Kept in the Dark
The grieving father of an 18-year-old cheerleader found dead on board a Carnival cruise ship is begging the FBI for answers about her death.
Anna Kepner was on a six-day cruise from Florida to Mexico with her family when she was mysteriously declared dead on Friday morning. FBI agents swarmed the ship when it docked in Miami the next day, and the girl’s family still claims to have “no idea” what happened to her.
“We were there as a family. Everybody was questioned,” Anna’s father, Christopher Kepner, 41, told the Daily Mail. “Everybody came off that ship. I don’t know who they are looking at or what their investigation is.”
Anna Kepner, 18, was found dead on-board a cruise ship in international waters. / Jeff Greenberg / Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Imag
Agents interviewed Kepner’s entire traveling party, which also included his wife, his two younger children, and Anna’s step-siblings.
“The FBI hasn’t shared anything with me yet,” he added. “I would imagine they’re going to be in contact with me about it, but I know as little as everybody else.”
“I have no idea what is going on right now. We are just trying to sit still and wait for answers.”
The hulking Carnival Horizon cruise ship was in international waters at the time of the incident, midway between Cozumel and Miami. Both the distance from land and the number of people onboard the 3,700-capacity megaship meant the case was beyond the scope of local law enforcement, placing it under the FBI’s jurisdiction.
Anna’s death has turned the family’s lives “upside down,” Kepner explained, and said the rampant speculation about his daughter’s death on social media has all but forced him from the internet.
“I’ve had to shut the world out. I don’t watch the TV anymore. We’ve literally had to stop doing anything to do with the internet,” said Kepner, who works as a crane operator in Cape Canaveral.
“We are very private people. Our lives have been turned upside down.”
Anna, affectionately known as “Anna Banana” by her family, was set to graduate from high school next May and had just finished her first test to join the military, her parents said.
Kepner said his daughter was “an 18-year-old, beautiful young girl” who had her whole life ahead of her.
“She was graduating in May and then she was going to go off into the military to be master of arms and after a few years come back to her small town to be a canine unit with the Titusville Police Department.”
“She was full of life and loved by everyone in this community,” he added. “The whole family is lost for words. We miss her and love her more than anything.”
Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed Kepner’s passing in a statement, and said “Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.”
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