Merrian Lynn Carver

• Missing Since 08/28/2004
• Missing From Seattle, Washington
• Classification Lost/Injured Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 04/03/1964 (60)
• Age 40 years old
• Height and Weight 5'7, 100 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Red hair, hazel eyes. Carver has scars on both legs. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

Carver lived in Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. She took a vacation cruise on the ship Mercury, owned by Celebrity Cruise, in August 2004. Carver boarded the vessel in Seattle, Washington on August 27. She was last seen by a cabin attendant the next day, August 28.

The ship made stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, Alaska and in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, but Carver did not disembark in any of those places. The cruise ended on September 3 when the Mercury docked in Vancouver, British Columbia. It has not been established whether or not Carver got off the ship then. She did not board her airplane flight back to Massachusetts and has never been heard from again.

Carver's family reported her missing on September 7. They had not realized she had gone on a cruise. The detective investigating her case found out she had gone on vacation when he accessed her credit card records.

Carver's father called the cruise line and was told she had boarded the ship, but had disappeared during the cruise. She left her personal belongings, including clothing, behind in her cabin on the ship when she disappeared.

The cruise line did not report Carver's disappearance until they heard from her father. They gave most of her possessions to charity and put her purse, which contained papers, computer disks, and her keys, into storage. The employee who ordered this was subsequently fired, as the cruise line's own regulations state that a passenger's absence should be reported to the security office.

Subsequent investigation showed that Carver never used her Sea Pass, an onboard credit card which also serves as identification. She never bought a drink on board and she is not recorded as having left the ship on any of its stops, though the ship does not keep records of passengers getting off in Vancouver.

Carver's parents sued the Celebrity Cruise company over her disappearance in March 2005. In response to the lawsuit, cruise officials issued a statement saying they believed Carver died by suicide, by jumping overboard. Her cabin is only a short distance from an open-air deck.

Carver had threatened to harm herself after her divorce several years prior to her disappearance, but her family does not believe she took her own life. She is described as a vivacious, independent person who enjoys writing poetry. She has work experience as an investment banker, but was unemployed and living off a trust fund and her investments at the time of her disappearance. She has one child.

Massachuetts and Alaska authorities are investigating Carver's case, which remains unsolved. The litigation against the cruise line is pending.