A tragedy has befallen a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Kimberly Burch, fiancée to Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe, is presumed dead after falling off an ‘80s-themed cruise which departed Miami March 2, her mother Carnell Burch confirmed to TMZ. Kimberly was 56.
Carnell, who said her daughter had been looking forward to the cruise, told the outlet Taime had called her on March 3 to deliver the news. TMZ reports Kimberly’s body remains missing.
Following the incident, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson shared in a statement with E! News, “Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share.”
Additionally, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard told the outlet the incident happened about 20 miles from Freeport, Bahamas, and that the military branch had deployed a helicopter crew and other personnel to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in its search.
E! News has reached out to Royal Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guard as well as reps for Faster Pussycat for comment but has not yet heard back.
Faster Pussycat had been scheduled to perform on the cruise as part of its ‘80s-theme, in addition to Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany and Men at Work.
Taime and Kimberly had been dating since 2015, according to a post on her Instagram celebrating their second anniversary in 2017. Before the cruise, the couple had enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day together, using the occasion to express their love for one another.
For his part, Taime, 60, wrote on Instagram, “I had a beautiful #valentinesday with my love and better half @burchkimberly. We ate candy and cupcakes. I’m a lucky man!”
Kimberly, meanwhile, spoke to their enduring bond.
“From your first hello to me I fell head over heels in love,” she captioned her Feb. 14 post. “You are my Valentine every day of my life. We are a tornado at times and pure raw love. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We do us like no other. I love you with my entire heart and soul.”
One day before her reported fall, Kimberly shared a selfie featuring her and Taime to Instagram, writing, “We made it to @the80scruise.”
