Candlelit vigils have been held for missing Disney cruise ship worker Rebecca Coriam in countries across the world.
The 24-year-old’s parents and sister joined more than 150 friends and relatives in her home city of Chester last night to light candles and release 40 lanterns into the sky. People from as far afield as Australia, Canada and the US pledged to do the same in their respective time zones after a massive response to the idea on an internet forum.
Some passengers and crew on the Disney Wonder cruise ship were planning to light safe battery-operated ‘candles’ to show their support for Rebecca’s family. She had been working as part of the youth programme on the vessel, which left Los Angeles on March 22 for a week-long cruise along the Mexican Riviera.
The alarm was raised three days into the voyage when she failed to turn up for her shift. Despite onboard inspections and alerts to the 3,000 passengers, the ship returned to Los Angeles without her.
One contributor on the DisBoards forum wrote: “New York will have a candle lit as well. We also have a daughter Rebecca’s age living and working very far from home and I just can’t imagine going through what your family is going through now.”
Police in the Bahamas – where the Disney Wonder is registered – said they have found no evidence to suggest “foul play” on board the ship.