AP) - MISSION VIEJO, California-U.S. and Italian authorities are investigating the death of an American woman who went overboard from a cruise ship last month, the FBI said.Micki Kanesaki, 52, plunged into the Mediterranean on May 26 off the Island Escape, which was sailing between Sicily and Naples, said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles. Her body washed ashore the next day in Calabria in southwest Italy.
Kanesaki was sharing a cabin with her ex-husband, Lonnie Kocontes, 48. They divorced in 2002 after six years of marriage but continued to live together in their Mission Viejo home at least until last year, court records show.
Kanesaki left the cabin around 1 a.m. to get a cup of tea, said Andy Furlong, a spokesman for Island Cruises, the ship’s owner. Kocontes, a lawyer, reported her missing after he woke up and could not find her after searching the ship, Furlong said.
Italian police boarded the ship, seized records and videotapes and took statements from the crew.
Kanesaki’s mother, Setsuko Kanesaki, said her daughter was in good spirits before the trip.
“I can’t imagine what happened to her. There’s no reason to believe it was a suicide,” she said.
The investigation into the cause of death is continuing, Eimiller said.