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Woman Speaks Out About Cruise Ship Crime After Her Son Vanishes At Sea

FALLBROOK (CBS) — A SoCal mother is speaking out about cruise ship crime and safety after her 20-year-old son mysteriously disappeared during a cruise to Alaska.

Cruise Ship Crimes Victims
(credit: CBS)

According to the law, cruise ship crimes are supposed to be reported to the FBI but the families of victims say that there's more that still needs to be done.

Blake Kepley went missing off a Holland America cruise ship last summer.

Three months later, his mother Merri Laursen finally received the Coast Guard's investigative report -- it included one blurry surveillance image of a person walking on deck the morning Kepley disappeared. She was told no surveillance video was available

"Nobody should go over a ship without video picking it up," said Ken Carver, who lost his daughter off a cruise ship.

Blake Kepley Vanished From Cruise Ship
(credit: CBS)

Carter founded the organization International Cruise Victims. The organization helped pass "The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act" which mandated more surveillance cameras on cruise ships, man overboard detection systems, reporting of crimes to the FBI and online posting of crime and missing persons statistics.

For more information on cruise ship crime and International Cruise Victims click here: http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/

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