Famous Investigator Joins Cruise Ship Disappearance Case

Jan. 23, 2006— -- While on his honeymoon last July, George Smith vanished from his cruise ship as it toured the Mediterranean Sea. Fellow passengers said they heard a struggle in his cabin, and the next morning, they saw blood on the awning below. Smith was nowhere to be found.

His family wants answers -- so now a big-name investigator is coming in to assist.

Dr. Henry Lee, a forensic specialist who worked on the O.J. Simpson trial and on the JonBenet Ramsey case, will board the ship for two hours today to investigate the scene. Smith, 26, of Connecticut, has yet to be found and is presumed dead.

"After six months, the chances for finding something are really remote," Lee said. "However, we cannot just give up."

Smith's wife, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, criticized the cruise company, Royal Caribbean, for cleaning up the blood in the cabin where the struggle occurred. She said that had the stain been secured, the mystery might already have been solved.

"We would know most likely what happened to George before he fell. There's so much forensics that that blood stain can show us," she said recently on the "Oprah Winfrey Show."

Royal Caribbean insists that it acted properly and promptly before cleaning up the crime scene.

"The scene was treated as a potential crime scene by all the relevant authorities," said Adam Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean International.

As part of his investigation today, Lee wanted to throw a mannequin off the ship's balcony to see where it landed, but Royal Caribbean said that would be in bad taste because there would be guests on board.