The family of Kimberly Burch, the fiancée of FASTER PUSSYCAT frontman Taime Downe, is demanding answers from the musician in connection with her death after going overboard from the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer Of The Seas during the first day of The 80s Cruise, a nostalgia music cruise featuring such acts as FASTER PUSSYCAT, WARRANT, DOKKEN, FIREHOUSE, SQUEEZE, Adam Ant, Tiffany and MEN AT WORK.
A search operation involving several ships was conducted after Kimberly Burch went overboard around 11 p.m. on Monday, March 3. She fell to her death after a heated argument with Downe aboard the ship, according to Kimberly‘s mother. It is still unclear whether Kimberly jumped or accidentally fell from the ship, but Carnell Burch told TMZ Kimberly wouldn’t purposefully hurt herself.
Kimberly‘s sister-in-law, Kellie Burch, told DailyMail.com that the family hasn’t heard from Downe after he called Kimberly‘s mom to notify her of her daughter’s death on Monday.
“We haven’t spoken to him,” Kellie told DailyMail.com. “He called my mother-in-law to notify her, but she hasn’t had any contact with him since then. None of us have.”
Like Carnell, Kellie said that she didn’t believe Kimberly would intentionally harm herself. “She wouldn’t do that,” Kellie said. “It’s just not her.
“We just want to know what happened,” Kellie added. “We just want answers… All we want is answers. We’ve had absolutely zero contact with the cruise company. We’ve emailed, we’ve called, and nobody has gotten back to us.”
Kimberly‘s family announced her death in a statement on Facebook Tuesday morning.
“It is with broken hearts that we share the sad news that Kimberly Burch has passed away,” they wrote. “She was a beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law and aunt. She will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved her. We ask for prayers during this time for our family as we try to wrap our minds around this heartbreaking tragedy. We love and miss you Kimberly Burch!!”
A Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said in a statement: “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.”
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told TMZ the incident happened roughly 20 miles away from Freeport, Bahamas.
The ship’s captain informed passengers of the situation via the public address system, and crew members promptly deployed a speedboat to search for the missing individual. Two nearby vessels also joined the search efforts.
On Monday, Kimberly posted a selfie with Taime on social media with the caption, “We made it aboard @the80scruise.”
An anonymous ship passenger told The Hollywood Reporter the incident occurred at the end of the evening when SQUEEZE was on stage.
“There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person,” the ship passenger said.
The passenger added that the ship stopped for a few hours deploying safety boats and floodlights to search. Eventually, the Explorer Of The Seas continued, arriving at its next destination at Nassau, Bahamas just a few hours behind schedule.
The cruise began on Sunday, March 2 and returns on Sunday, March 9.
Taime and Kimberly were together for about 6 to 7 years, according to TMZ.
For this year’s Valentine’s Day, Kimberly shared a series of photos of her with Taime and she wrote in an accompanying caption: “Happy Every Day! From your first hello to me I fell head over heels in love. 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”.
Originally formed during the mid-1980s glam rock era, FASTER PUSSYCAT has gone on to have a triumph of success, with over two million albums sold worldwide, and has accompanied some of rocks most distinguished names on tour, such as ALICE COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE, MÖTLEY CRÜE, GUNS N’ ROSES and KISS.
