Disappearance Before Dawn

Who knows what drunken George Smith was looking for, while talking to himself that night? Perhaps he was looking for his cigarettes. A single voice probably indicates one person. (I say this as someone who apparently inherited my dad's habit of frequently talking aloud to myself when I'm alone.) And where are all those frames upon frames of video, and door key data, that could show us who came and went where and when??? Parents always think it's murder, but it sounds a lot like Spring Break to me. Almost every year here in TX someone seems to fall from the railing of a balcony while partying. Guys who are used to perching on an apartment balcony railing may not grasp the fact that the ship railing is *moving*, potentially suddenly, and in any direction. He would not be the first, and probably not the last, to pick a bad location to have a last cigarette of the night. Too bad it didn't happen here in Texas. I'm sure with the amount of "evidence" you showed on Dateline tonight any decent prosecutor here could hang a first degree murder conviction on someone (eeny, meeny, miny, moe--they don't care who), and possibly secure a death penalty, to boot.

His wife picked him up all day off the ground in Italy the day before, she just wasn't there for a minute to watch him. And.... he fell for the last time.

Both Emmy and Hestia are correct. I work in a bar in New York, and we simply have to "police" young drinkers (they MUST be over 21 to imbibe, in the first place). These kids on the ship had their own bottle of Absinth. They broke the law. (I'm surprised George didn't die from alcohol poisoning.) But poor George fell off the balcony. (Not even the cruiseline's fault.) And 80% of Dateline's voters think it was murder? Nice work, Dateline. Let's keep this country ignorant and full of litigious, vengeful finger-pointers.

Both Emmy and Hestia are correct. I work in a bar in New York City and we must constantly "police" young drinkers. (You MUST be 21 to imbibe.) These kids on the ship brought in their own bottle of Absinth. They broke the law. (I'm surprised George didn't die first from alcohol poisoning.) And poor George fell off the balcony. (Not even the cruiseline's fault.) And 80% of Dateline's viewers still think it was murder? Was the motive "He needed killing"? Nice work, Dateline. Let's keep this country full of litigious, vengeful finger-pointers.

I am a schoolteacher who read 10 books on Russian history after "Jewels of the Romanovs" came to the San Diego Art History Museum. The drink that was smuggled on board is called "Absinthe". There's a book called "Absinthe, a Sip of Seduction" written by Betine Wittels, Robert Hermesch, and edited by T.A. Breaux. T.A. Breaux is a chemist and expert on this drink. The drink has a long history and a tie in with Bacchus, the green fairy (demon?) and a famous painting called "Bacchus und Amor" by Asmus Jacob Carstens, a Danish artist. The drink has magical elements to it. I think that the three Russian men killed George and may have been the Russian equivalent of our Navy Seals. The three Russians had to have good jobs to buy tickets for the luxury cruise. The horrendous thud may have been them throwing George against the wall to knock him unconscious. The sound of looking in cupboards was one man searching for money. And wouldn't the ship's security cameras catch the 4-5 men going into the room and OUT of the room? If one man hopped over the railing to push the body overboard, wouldn't that man be caught on the ship's camera's two floors down? The new wife was probably given Absinthe, the extremely potent green drink. There's a legend associated with that drink. It conjures up the green fairy (demon). The legend behind the drink also may have emboldened the Russian men to do their dirty deed. In the late 1800s-1900s, young rich Russian society used to enjoy great debauchery with this drink as they experimented with supernatural forces (seances, etc.). Why can't the ship's cameras reveal more of who went where? My grandma always warned my family about preditory strangers in the travel industry. My heart goes out to George's parents.

Dear Ms. Montoya---Your avid reading obviously has developed an active imagination. Demons? Supernatural forces? Russian Navy Seals? And by your account, RICH Russian Navy Seals (who bought luxury cruise tickets with money from their good jobs, as you say), who then MURDERED a DRUNK newlywed for money (that they thought he had hidden in his room)? The rich stealing from the rich. Murdering a man is easier than waiting for him to pass out. It just doesn't make sense. Plus, all cruise ship rooms have individual safes. One does not "hide" money or valuables in cupboards when on a cruise. Also, you seem to be preoccupied by the fact that the drinking buddies were Russian. Did your Grandma also warn you about "Foreigners"?

As a school teacher, you have a responsibility to divide fact from fiction. Dateline doesn't have to adhere to that. They are not paid by the taxpayer to deliver education. Please tell me that you are not teaching your students to believe in Green Fairies, and that Green Fairies (Demons) are to blame when bad things happen. I honestly thought you might have been nipping at the Absinthe yourself when you gave your theory as to what happened.

This is a story of tragic, young alcoholics...period. Too much money, too much time, and not enough life experience. If George's parents had been on the cruise, could they have stopped him from over indulging? Probably not. Would they have tried? Hmmm. George was known by his classmates as a party guy. The pattern had already been set, long before this fatal cruise, long before his adulthood.

Being a bartender in New York, I have seen it all before.

This is a very tragic story my heart goes out to his family. I can't imagine losing someone I love in this manner. I've never been on a cruise ship, but every story I have heard about them have never been good ones. I think I'll just stick to driving or flying!

When a few young men get together their iq automatically drops about 50 percent, speaking from vast expierience. Add booze to the mix and anything can and does happen. With what evidence we are shown (very little) i would say he died of collective, simple stupidity.

This is a non story. Dude was drunk He fell and died End of story.No motive for murder No reason for suicide. Dude was drunk and he died The FBI should go after terrorists not waste our money and fBI's time on this. Its like the war in Iraq- just a waste of money that never ends.

The beautiful girl who took pics of the bloodstains. She did it.

For anyone who has shared a room with someone that is completely wasted and not in their own room, can and will get disoriented looking for the bathroom. The neighbor claimed he saw the boys leaving at 4:00am, about 20 minutes later is when they heard the ruckus and then a thud. He woke up (maybe to go throw up or the bathroom), it was dark, couldn't see a thing, started trying to make his way around - explains all the ruckus - was running into everything. Then he finally makes it into another room, which he probably thought was the bathroom - seriously I have seen people do it! Unfortunately, that room was the balcony and he tripped and fell off. T

This is a tragic story, indeed. But if you listen carefully...There are a dozen stories like this...all of them not involving alchohol...but all involving people disappearing on a cruise ship. If you are planning a cruise...Hope you make it back alive...cause these cruise ships answer to NO ONE...They take your big bucks and guarantee you nothing...not even survival. If this were the first time this had ever happened...It would be truely a mystery...because quite frankly...I do not know what happened to George...but I bet the cruise ship has an idea...but they will be held accountable by no one- EVER. They NEVER are...Think about it...who exactly works on these ships?...do they do back ground checks on their employees? I bet not. Really folks...think twice before you take a cruise...too much sh*t happens on these ships...and no one is ever brought in for questioning...

Gosh! Jennifer couldn't handle the drink! She is a true example of a one night stand. Just be care-ful!!

She's to die for!!!!

Gosh! Jennifer couldn't handle the drink! She is a true example of a one night stand. Just be care-ful!!

She's to die for!!!!

The question to Jennifer Smith

. If you had been in the room that night. Instead with the manager.

Would George still be alive???

To all who think he fell, let me ask you this: have you been on a cruise ship lately? Unless you're like 7'5" or 8" tall, the railing will reach you pretty high, about chest level at least. For him to fall over and for it to be an accident, he would have had to climb the rails or a chair and push himself over or jump, highly improbable. I think someone followed him into his room, demanded money, and he said he had none or would not give it up, so the person (or people) got angry, violent, and wanted to show him they were serious and started throwing things around to make a point of the fact they were so angry, that he'd suffer a tragic fate unless he gave them what they asked for. He either refused or could not find the money due to his high level of drunkenness and so they decided to give him a beating. When they saw that their beating was more of a "oops, we killed him" rather than a "hope we taught you a lesson, now give us the money", they decided to dispose of him by dumping him overboard and unfortunately, having blood evidence spill over to other balconies. The fact they heard a male talking may have been the voice of the person who killed him who was wondering aloud or to his accomplice "could the money be in this drawer? or in this closet? Help me find it" George's mistake was announcing to a bunch of strangers that he had money in his room, making him an easy target to thiefs. Another thing, why did Jennifer get all the settlement money? His parents also lost their son and they got nothing. This seems unfair. Either they should get a cut or RCL should give them their own settlement, and what happened with the Turkish investigators' finds anyway???