Cruise line: Camera show woman fell while alone

Surveillance cameras on the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship show a Camden County woman was alone on her balcony when she fell overboard Sunday, the cruise line said Wednesday.

The family of Mindy Jordan, 46, of Pine Hill, said Tuesday that they suspected foul play and described her relationship with her boyfriend and travel companion, Jorge Caputo, as volatile.

But, the Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that interior hallway cameras and exterior cameras on the sides of the ship "confirmed that Mindy Jordan was in her stateroom alone at the time of the incident."

The company did not characterize the incident, and noted that investigations are continuing.

The cruise line said it was making arrangements for Jordan's family to join the ship in Bermuda Thursday to view the surveillance footage.

FBI agents from the New York City office, as well as local authorities in Bermuda, conducted interviews on the ship Wednesday.

If FBI agents determine Jordan's fall to be accidental, that information would be relayed to family members, but not made public, said Special Agent Jim Margolin.

The cruise line released a timeline of events, beginning with Jordan, Caputo and a couple they were traveling with eating diner in the ship's Garden Cafe.

The couples left the dining room and returned to their adjacent staterooms about 7:28 p.m., the cruise line said.

Eight minutes later, Caputo left his room and joined his friends next door. "From that moment on, Mindy is alone in her stateroom," the cruise line said.

At 7:53 p.m., the surveillance cameras show Jordan falling overboard from her balcony, "straight into the water."

The cruise line previously said that Jordan, who was staying on deck nine, was attempting to climb to an adjoining balcony when she fell.

Shortly after Jordan's fall, an emergency call was made from the friends' stateroom, and Caputo is seen leaving that room to "to seek help," the cruise line said.

Four minutes later, a man-overboard announcement was made and the ship's crew launched two rescue boats.

Jordan went overboard about 45 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, about four hours after the ship had left New York City, en route to Bermuda.

The Coast Guard joined the search, which was called off on Monday. Jordan's body has not been found.

The cruise ship continued on its voyage to Bermuda, where it arrived Wednesday. The ship is due back in New York on Sunday morning.

Jordan's family members said earlier this week that they doubted the cruise line's initial account of the incident, and they described Jordan's relationship with Caputo as rocky.

The two lived together for more than two years, said Jordan's brother, Steve Lynn. He said Jordan moved out several months ago, but they had apparently reconciled.

Barbara Matthews, the couple's neighbor, described Jordan and Caputo in complimentary terms and said she never saw any evidence of trouble in their relationship.

She said Caputo, who works for a car dealership, moved next door to her about three years ago with his daughter, Megan, who was then 20. Jordan moved in about a year later.

"What I know about him, it's impossible for me to think there was anything sinister going on," she said.

Matthews said she last saw the couple on Sunday morning, before they left for the cruise.

They were meeting their traveling companions in the parking lot, and Caputo joked with Matthews about watching the house to make sure his daughter didn't have any parties while he was gone.

She said Caputo recently recovered from back surgery and "was really looking forward" to the trip.

Jordan, a licensed practical nurse, was the mother of a 15-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son.

Her mother, Louise Horton, of Bordentown, said she spoke to Jordan twice on Mother's Day before the ship left port. Caputo called the next morning to say that Jordan had died.

"The pieces just don't add together," Horton said Tuesday.

Jordan's family could not be reached last night after the cruise ship's statement was released.