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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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and for a more detailed list of content warnings please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our
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website today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all
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listeners the northwest providence channel is a body of water that sits between the two banks that make up most
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of the Bahama archipelago to the west of the channel is the Gulf Stream an ocean current that
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flows through the Straits of Florida and up along the east coast of the United States on Monday November 13 1961 a
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21,000 ton oil tanker called the gulf lion entered the northwest providence Channel after departing the Florida city
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of Fort Lauderdale headed for San Juan Puerto Rico at noon that day one of the crew
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members assumed the role of the tanker's lookout at the stern about 30 minutes into his 4-Hour shift
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he noticed something bobbing in the choppy water about 4 miles away it was a white wooden dinghy with
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its sails furled inside the small boat was a lone man [Music] 40-year-old doctor Arthur dupal had long
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wanted to take his family on a special vacation a successful contact lens optometrist who resided in Green Bay
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Wisconsin Arthur had previously served in the US Navy on his way to serve in my Mar
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during World War II he had sailed across the Pacific Ocean and developed a deep love of the Sea and the
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Tropics the climate was Far warmer than in his home state of Wisconsin and the expansive Pacific was far greater than
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any body of water he'd seen before after completing his military service Arthur met a woman 2 years his
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Junior named Jean brush the two had a whirlwind romance and Mar married shortly after
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meeting the couple soon had three children a son named Brian and two daughters Terry Joe and
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Renee over the following years Arthur often dreamt of showing his family the Tropic Waters that he'd loved so
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much by late 1961 that dream finally became a reality Arthur and Jean had saved their
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money and planned to escape Wisconsin's cold winter for a sailing Adventure it would start with a weekl
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long cruise in the Bahamas and if that went well the family would take a yearlong sabatical
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together in early November 1961 the dupal family Road tripped down to Florida and began looking for the right
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boat to Charter at the city's bahamar Marina Arthur dupal inspected a number of boats docked at the marina before
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discovering the blue a two mastered sailboat known as a catch that had originally been built as a
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racing yacht it was 60 ft long and 15 ft across at its widest point it also had a wooden
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dingy and black rubber life raft inside the boat's main cabin was 13 ft long with three port holes on either
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side and a skylight the cabin contained a dining area with comfortable seating a small
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bathroom and a kitchenette in front of the cabin was a main bedroom with a queen-sized
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bed another small sleeping area sat at the cabin's rear these would be the family's
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quarters finally there was a forward cabin tucked in front of the main bedroom designed to house the boat's
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crew Blue Bell was the perfect size for the duper old family Arthur found out it was owned by
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a man named Harold Peg and skippered by a 44-year-old former Air Force pilot called Julian
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Harvey Harold agreed to allow the duper alts to chart a blue bell for $100 per day while the duper alts would help out
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here and there with some minor running and steering of the sailboat Captain Julian Harvey would take the helm as
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their Skipper Captain Harvey had recently married just 3 months earlier and his wife Mary who was 34 would be the
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family's cook by the afternoon of Wednesday November 8th the group was ready to set
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sail over the next few days the duper alts and their crew spent their time cruising across the sea they observed
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Pelicans soaring through the sky watched porpuses swim alongside their boat and even spotted a giant sea turtle floating
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nearby the children got a thrill when they saw a shark fin surface at one point the family also visited a number
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of the Bahamas Islands most of which were tiny and uninhabited all strong swimmers the
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family went snorkeling and spear fishing sometimes Arthur went out in the dinghy with 14-year-old Brian and
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11-year-old Terry Joe and they would explore the coral reefs meanwhile Jean duper stayed on the
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beach with their youngest child 7-year-old Renee collecting shells and digging in the
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sand Brian had brought a 22 caliber rifle along with the intention of possibly hunting sharks but didn't end
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up using it meanwhile Captain Harvey focused on the running of the ship picking up
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supplies and assisting in filing paperwork that allowed the family to move freely through the
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Bahamas he wife Mary didn't find the voyage as carefree as the duper alts did in a letter she sent home to her
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mother she complained about never having a moment to herself writing I think I'll
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devise some kind of disappearing act why oh why can't people leave me alone but aside from this minor
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complaints Mary seemed up a beat telling her mother that duper alts were lovely people and their children were well
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behaved a few days into the trip Captain Harvey anchored the Blue Bell in the harbor of Sandy Point a small fishing
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town in the great [ __ ] Bahamas over the course of a weekend the duper Al explored the village and
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chatted to locals with Arthur dupal telling the village commissioner this has been a once in a
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lifetime vacation we are going to come back and use Sandy Point as a winter Resort
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on Sunday November 12th Captain Harvey and his wife Mary headed to the commissioner's office to file the
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family's leaving papers as they would be beginning their Journey back to Florida
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that night it was a 200 mile Journey which Captain Harvey and Arthur dupal planned
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to cover in two days by sailing almost constantly they chattered into joked with the commissioner and his wife Mary
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told them that the duper alts had already decided to Charter the Blue Bell again before Christmas so they would all
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be back very soon at 12:35 p.m. the following day of Monday November 13 a crew member on
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board the oil tanker golf lion spotted a small white dinghy bobbing in the choppy
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Waters of the northwest providence channel the figure of a man was visible inside the
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dinghy as the that dingy was behind the tanker they had to turn around to head towards
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it as the golf lion Drew closer its crew members saw the man stand and start to wave his arms as though trying to get
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their attention he appeared to have something in his arms like a tarpulin or life
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jacket that he used to gesture with they could also make out a black rubber life raft tied alongside the
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dinghy with something inside though they couldn't see what the object was finally after about 30 minutes the
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tanker reached the dinghy the man inside looked to be in his 40s and was tall with bare feet and
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some bleached hair stammering slightly he called out my name is Julian Harvey I am Master of
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the blue bow I have a dead baby on this dinghy it wasn't until the gulf lion had
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reached the dinghy that its crew members could finally see the object inside at the life
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raft it was the body of 7-year-old Renee dupal the side of the little girl's body
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left the golf Lion's crew members feeling sick Renee appeared stiff and blue and was clearly
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deceased they lowered a basket to retrieve her body after an a was safely aboard the oil
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tanker Captain Harvey clambered up a rope ladder to the gulf Lion's deck where crew members gathered around
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him they provided him with food and treated him for mild shock Harvey appeared dazed as he was
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approached by the golf Lion's Captain who asked him what had happened Harvey explained that just
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before midnight the previous night the Blue Bell had been sailing smoothly when it was suddenly caught up in a sharp
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gust of wind known as a Squall this resulted in the catcher's main Mast snapping
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into a 50ft portion of the Mast plunged down driving a huge hole into the blue Bell's deck and
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hole as the main Mast fell it pulled the other Mast down too which fell into the
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cockpit over the engine room most of the blue Bell's passengers were ga in the cockpit at the time and
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were now trapped by the masts cables and rigging Captain Harvey ran below deck to
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fetch some cable Cutters he could use to free the other passengers from the debris when he returned with them he saw
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a fire raging the second M's fall had ruptured fuel lines in the engine room resulting
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in enormous Flames the fire enveloped the cockpit and spread across the the deck which had
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recently been painted with highly flammable neoprene simultaneously the catch had
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started to sink Harvey returned below deck once again to grab a fire extinguisher then
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tried to D the Flames but they were too strong cut off from the other passengers
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by The Blaze Harvey decided to launch the dingy and attempt to reach them by water
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instead he us used the cable Cutters to cut through a guard rail and release a life raft then pushed the 10t long
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dinghy into the water as he paddled towards the Blue Bell Stern the catch began to sink
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faster slipping below the Rough Waters Captain Harvey navigated through the dark sea as best as he could calling
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out to his wife Mary and the dupal family but no one called back to him the only passenger he was able to find
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was 7-year-old Renee dubal who floated by him wearing a life preserver when he pulled her into the
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life raft she was already dead the gulf Lions Captain radioed the US Coast Guard to alert them of the
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tragedy and an air and SE search was launched to look for any possible survivors two rescue planes and two
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Coast Guard Cutters were dispatched and messages were sent to ships in the area yet no survivors were
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found meanwhile the gulf lion detour to nasur the largest city in the Bahamas situated about 60 Mi south of their
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current location to drop off Harvey miraculously the blue Bell's Captain was uninjured and unharmed but
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he had still suffered a severe trauma the golf Lion's crew rallied together to raise $180 to give to Harvey
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he used the collection to fly home to the United States boarding a flight to Miami on Tuesday November
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14 upon Landing in Miami Captain Harvey phoned the Coast Guard to check in with them they asked Harvey to attend an
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informal hearing in 2 days time so he could describe the events surrounding the Blue Bell sinking in more
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detail Harvey readily agreed and presented at the Coast Guard's Miami headquarters at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday
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November 16 also in attendance was Harold Peg the owner of the Bluebell Peg's attorney and
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investigating officer Lieutenant Ernest Murdoch before the hearing got underway Harvey asked Lieutenant Murdoch whether
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there was any update in the search for the blue Bell's passengers he was informed that not only
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had the two search planes and two Coast guard Cutters failed to find any who'd been on board the Blue Bell but they
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hadn't even recovered any debris from the catch Captain Harvey began recounting what happened by explaining that the
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Blue Bell had departed Sandy Point shortly after dark on the evening of Sunday November
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12th the weather had been Pleasant and calm prompting all of the passengers to stay up in the
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cockpit the adults chattered while the dupal children napped Captain Harvey was steering the boat
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however there were a few small rain squalls in the area and the Blue Bell suddenly encountered one of these
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shortly before midnight Harvey explained how this had broken the masts and severely damaged
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the boat some suffered injuries caused by the Mast falling Harvey's wife Mary and
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Arthur dupal both had their legs cut by splinters of wood the accident caused 11 y- old Terry
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Joe duper to start screaming and Harvey had tried to calm her down he stammered as he spoke and his
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jaw trembled it was clear he was struggling at times to find the right words to describe the
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tragedy sometimes he shifted in his seat and ran his hands through his hair everyone present could see how much
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stress he was under Harvey continued on describing the fire and how the catch started to
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sink Harvey said that as he decided to launch the dingy the passengers cut off from him by the fire saw what he was
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doing and chose to jump overboard into the water all three duper Al children had
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been wearing life preservers at the time there were also life Rings nearby that the adults had access
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to they seemingly hoped to survive by escaping the flames and Landing safely where Harvey could reach
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them as Harvey steered the dinging into the sea he could hear the others yelling
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out faintly but by the time he reached the stern they had elpt from none were visible in the
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water the Pitch Black Knight made Harvey's Rescue Mission even harder as he struggled to see his surroundings
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with rain wind and waves pting his face Harvey shouted to the others until his voice was horse no replies
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came the Blue Bell sank quietly into the sea extinguishing the Flames when Harvey finally came across
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the body of Renee dupal he tried to resuscitate her but she was already deceased Harvey tied her to the Life
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Draft so her remains would be safe the strenuous actions of launching the dingy by himself rowing at solo and
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searching for survivors had left him exhausted as the sun rose the next morning he ate
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the emergency rations in the dinghy the sun helped warm up the freezing Captain Harvey though waves
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continued to drench him repeatedly by early afternoon he spotted the golf lion oil tanker and was able to
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signal for rescue Lieutenant Murdoch asked Captain Harvey why he hadn't tried to use the
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blue Bel radio to call for help Harvey said he knew it wouldn't work as the main Mast had taken out the
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antenna when it fell despite having flares in the emergency kit in the dingy it hadn't
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even occurred to him to use them plus he explained they were buried deep in the kit making them hard to
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reach finally Lieutenant Murdoch concluded his questioning of Captain Julian Harvey and turned his attention
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to the Blue Bell Zone Harold Peg Lieutenant Murdoch told Harvey he could stay to listen to his employer's
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testimony and would be allowed to ask questions if he disagreed with anything Harold Peg
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said a few moments later the door to the hearing room burst open Coast Guard Captain Robert Barber
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who was handling the investigation alongside Lieutenant Murdoch rushed in he had urgent
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news another Survivor had been [Music] found on the morning of Thursday November 16 Second Officer Nicolas spad
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darkus stared out at the water as his ship passed through the northwest providence
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channel the captain Theo was a Greek freighter that was on its way to Houston Texas and Nicolas was acting as
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Watcher standing high up on the bridge he spotted a few other ships in the distance the Sun was shining brightly
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making Nicola's job easier thousands of White Caps dotted the surface of the water but while most
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ebbed and flowed with the waves one did not the tiny white object caught Nicola's eye he stared at the object
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squinting to get a better look Nicolas suspected it was a piece of debris and then he spotted the outline
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of a person inside initially Nicolas wondered if he was seeing a fisherman on a dinghy before
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realizing they were out way too far for that Nicolas called over the ship's Captain by now the object was about a
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mile away from the starboard bow of the freighter the ship slowly Drew closer and as it did so Nicolas and the captain
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realized that they were looking at a tiny rectangular-shaped life raft it was 2 and 1/2 ft by 5 ft and made of
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canvas covered cork with rope webbing in the middle the person inside was a female
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child she was sitting up but reclining slightly in a stiff uncomfortable pose her legs hanging over the life raft into
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the water her hair was bleached Blonde by the Sun and she wore a white blouse and
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pink petal pushes the girl waved weakly at the ship's crew who were staring at her in
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shock the captain ordered his crew to stop the engines because the ship's lifeboats
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were large he worried that lowering one down to the girl would knock her off the
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raft and into the water so a makeshift raft was created from empty oil drums the captain suddenly noticed
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something alarming the fins of several sharks were circling the girl's raft and she was
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still sitting with her legs dangling in the water he called for his crew to hurry up
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and the oil drums were lowered over the side a crew member followed and picked up the little
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girl as soon as she was in his arms she fell limp before being hoisted up to the
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ship's deck it was clear she had been alone at sea for some time her face was gaunt and
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sunburnt her lips were was swollen and her eyes dazed and unfocused she was severely dehydrated
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and obviously in shock crew members carried the girl to a spare cabin and placed her on a bunk
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before bringing her water orange juice and damp tails the captain asked the girl her
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name explaining he would alert the Coast Guard so they could notify her family wordlessly the girl shook her
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head and pointed down with her thumb the captain interpreted this as the girl saying her family had been lost
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in the same accident as her he tried to reassure her stating you can't be sure they are lost maybe some
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other ship saved them the girl shook her head again and pointed at the water then she said in a horar voice
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bluebo before telling the captain her name Terry Joe dupal the captain notified the Coast
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Guard of 11-year-old Terry Joe's rescue a helicopter was sent to collect the girl and as she was lifted into a
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basket she weakly waved goodbye to the captain Theo's crew Terry Joe was transferred to a
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hospital in Miami where she was treated for shock and exposure exhausted from her 84h hour
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long or deal Terry Joe slept for Days by Sunday November 19 after several days treatment and rest she began to
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appear well again her room was kept under close guard and her aunt and uncle flew from
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Green Bay Wisconsin to be with her on Monday November 20 Terry Joe shared her story with the Coast Guard
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from her hospital bed everything had been going well on her family vacation up until the night
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of Sunday November 12th that evening Mary Harvey made everyone chicken catch a Tori and salad
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which they ate together at around 9:00 p.m. Terry Joe had gone down to the small cabin she shared with her little
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sister Renee and went to sleep everyone else had stayed up Terry Joe slept deeply until she was
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suddenly woken by the sound of her brother Brian screaming help help Daddy help at the same time Terry Joe heard
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the sound of footsteps running and stomping then all fell silent except for a few Creeks that were normal for the
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boat at night Terry Joe lay still in bed shaking and terrified she waited between 5 and 10
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minutes then got up and slowly crept out to the main cabin lying on the floor of the main
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cabin were the bodies of her mother and brother both in a pool of blood Terry Joe knew they were
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dead in shock she somehow kept moving and walked up the stairs towards the deck she could see more puddles of Blood
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on the starboard side of the cockpit as well as what looked like a knife all of a sudden Captain Julian
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Harvey appeared and ran towards her Terry Joe Ed to ask what's happening when Harvey grabbed her and roughly
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shoved her back down the stairs saying get back down there scared and her heart racing Terry
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Joe did as she was told returning to her bunk and huddling in a corner soon she heard the sloshing sound
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of water followed a few minutes later by water that wed of oil starting to flood
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her cabin then Captain Harvey re appeared in the doorway she couldn't see his face due to
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the Shadows of the dark room he was holding something in his hands which might have been her
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brother's rifle but Terry Joe struggled to see Harvey stood staring at her for a
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long time Terry Joe sat Frozen with fear finally Harvey turned around and left some pounding noises followed and
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water continued to seep into the cabin reaching Terry Joe's mattress Terry Joe knew she had to get
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out the water was up to her waist as she stood and made her way back up the stairs
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again when she reached the cockpit she saw that the boat's dingy and black rubber life raft had been launched over
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the side is the ship sinking she cried out yes Harvey answered he was standing behind her near the
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front of the boat then he handed her the line to the dinghy and told her to hold it Terry Joe
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took the line and Harvey continued rushing forwards to get something as he did so the line slipped
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from Terry Joe's fingers when he returned mere seconds later he shouted the ding's
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gone he then leapt overboard towards the dinghy with which was floating away from
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the blue bow left all alone Terry Joe somehow remembered the white cork Life float
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which was kept attached to the top of the main cabin she retrieved the float by untying
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the knot that held it in place as the deck beneath her feet slid underwater then Terry Joe pushed the
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Life float in front of her while half swimming and half crawling across the main sail launching the float in the
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water [Music] water the float was so small that Terry Joe couldn't lie down on it she tried to
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stay hunched down low aware that Captain Harvey was out there somewhere in the dark she had no food water or warm
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clothing and nothing that would allow her to signal for help Terry Joe drifted through the water
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all night cold and unable to see the the wind was haing and waves periodically washed over
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her when the sun rose the following morning it helped warm her up but it soon burnt her skin and made her
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dehydration worse the cork float she sat on wasn't intended to be kept in the water for
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long periods of time and its material beneath her began to disintegrate this led to parrot fish
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biting Terry Joe's exposed legs and feet Monday November 13th slowly passed with
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no help arriving Terry Joe saw a ship in the distance but it was too far away to see
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her the following day was cloudy and cooler a few airplanes flew by including a small red one that was quite close to
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her it was one of two Rescue Planes searching for the blue Bell's passengers the red plane flew in a grid
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pad above Terry Joe and circled her she waved at it frantically but again went unnoticed at one point that afternoon a
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pot of pilot whales surfaced about 30 yards from Terry Joe's float and swam alongside her for a time she found
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comfort in their presence her sleep that night was plagued by strange hallucinations and
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dreams at one point she saw her father sitting and drinking a glass of red wine he called out to her come on Terry Joe
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we're leaving now by her third day at Sea Terry Joe was well and truly suffering from heat
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exhaustion and dehydration all of her muscles achd and her lips were rough and swollen as more of the cork float had
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broken and disintegrated through the middle she was restricted to sitting on the edges
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this meant she had to remain upright at all times Terry Joe began to hallucinate
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more frequently and it became oblivious to the waves and sea around her Terry Joe eventually found a way to
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remain on the float safely and more comfortably she rested her shoulders on one Edge her arms on either side and her
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thighs on the other edge with her legs in the Water by the fourth day Terry Joe was in
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a near com State her blood pressure had dipped and her temperature soared to 105° F or 40.5 de
00:31:40
C Terry Joe was barely conscious but at around midm morning she suddenly opened her eyes to see the Greek freighter
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Captain Theo looming before her Terry Joe found the strength to force herself upright and wave at the
00:31:56
ship then paddle towards it she was finally rescued Terry Joe's version of events
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differed notably from Julian Harvey's after Coast Guard Captain Robert Barber heard her described what
00:32:14
had happened the night that the Blue Bell sank he asked the 11-year-old whether she had ever seen a fire at any
00:32:20
time on the boat Terry Joe said she hadn't nor did she see or smell smoke the Coast Guard investigators were now
00:32:31
certain that Julian Harvey had been lying the Blue Bell hadn't gone down due to an accident in fact Terry Joe's
00:32:40
descriptions of her mother and brother's bodies along with the blood she'd seen near the cockpit made investigators
00:32:46
certain that the boat had been deliberately sunk to cover murder when Captain Harvey received a
00:32:54
word of Terry Joe's survival during the Coast Guard hearing he appeared shocked and
00:32:59
unsettled after initially expressing his amazement and stating isn't that wonderful he then abruptly stood and
00:33:07
walked to a nearby window after staring outside at the ground below for about a minute he
00:33:14
turned and headed towards the door his employer and the blue Bell's owner Harold Peg were still giving his
00:33:24
testimony upon seeing that Harvey appeared to be leaving Coast Guard Lieutenant Ernest Murdoch asked him
00:33:31
don't you want to remain for the rest of the testimony you have that privilege Harvey smiled and shook his
00:33:40
head then left liutenant Murdoch and his partner Captain Barber were suspicious about
00:33:47
Harvey's abrupt departure right after he'd found out Terry Joe survived they paused the proceedings to
00:33:55
quickly call the Miami Police Department and request that Terry Joe duper Al's hospital room be kept under Constant
00:34:04
[Music] Guard before his career as a skipper Julian Harvey had been an Air Force
00:34:13
pilot serving in World War II and the Korean War his service saw him receive a number of
00:34:21
medals but his first love had always been sailing as a teenager growing up in New
00:34:28
York he had built sailboats and took them out on the Long Island Sound after he retired from his military
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career in 1958 he moved to Florida to pursue a full-time career as a master of a
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yacht people in Fort Lauderdale regarded him as a handsome and a dashing war hero
00:34:48
in July 1961 Julian Harvey married aspiring writer Mary Jordan who was 10 years his
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Junior Mary wasn't Harvey's first wife he had been married five times before and was known to be unfaithful to his
00:35:05
spouses some of his marriages ended with Harvey telling his wives he no longer loved them but more than one ended in
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tragedy in 1949 when Harvey was 32 he was driving along a rainy Highway with his second wife Joan boan and her mother
00:35:23
Myrtle when his car skidded into a bridge railing then sunk into a by you Joan and Myrtle both drowned trapped
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in the car Harvey walked away unharmed he attributed this to the fact he'd seen the accident coming at the
00:35:40
last second prompting him to open his door and jump out before the Collision he made no attempt to save his
00:35:49
wife or mother-in-law bypassers who came across the accident saw him standing on the
00:35:54
bridge calmly watching others diving into the water order a highway patrol officer and the
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police diver who responded to the incident were suspicious especially when the car was found with all four doors
00:36:08
closed and the driver's side window wound down but there was no hard evidence indicating a crime and Harvey was
00:36:16
permitted to move on with his life he received a payout from a life insurance policy he'd taken out on Joan
00:36:24
and within weeks of her death he was living with another woman in 1954 Harvey and his fifth wife
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purchased a 68t yacht called the tatross within a year of buying it Harvey and several friends took it out
00:36:42
one day and rammed it into a submerged Battleship the tatross sank but all on board survived with Harvey suing the US
00:36:51
government due to the submerged wreck causing the accident Coast Guardian investigator
00:36:58
Robert Barber who was assigned to this case 6 years before the Blue Bell sank believed Harvey had deliberately run
00:37:05
into the rack it was a well-known navigational Hazard that was clearly marked with a boy and its exact location
00:37:13
was clearly visible furthermore a passenger who'd been on the yacht said Harvey had
00:37:19
circled the wreck twice before the Collision ultimately the court found differently and awarded Harvey a 14
00:37:28
$1,258 payout using the proceeds of this settlement Harvey bought another boat an
00:37:36
81 ft yacht called Valiant in 1958 the Valiant was spotted on fire in the marina where it was
00:37:45
kept a passer by was able to D the flames and the boat was saved a few months later Harvey sailed
00:37:54
the Valiant to Cuba when he was 10 Mi off the North coast of Cuba the yacht caught
00:38:01
fire Harvey and his sole crewman were able to escape as the Valiant burnt and sank a passing boat picked up Harvey and
00:38:11
he was able to collect a $40,000 insurance payout for losing his second boat some were suspicious due to the
00:38:19
earlier fire on the Valiant and a friend of Harvey's later told author Richard Logan that Harvey had told him he'd
00:38:26
burned and thank the yacht because he needed the money in the fall of 1960 Julian Harvey
00:38:34
met a flight attendant and aspiring writer named Mary Jordan while he was skippering a yacht that had been charted
00:38:41
for a party Mary and Harvey hit it off and were married in Mexico in July 1961 the pair soon began arguing
00:38:51
frequently often about money Mary's father was unwell so she promised to send her family $25 per
00:38:59
month to help pay for his hospital care Harvey was unhappy about this two months after their wedding he
00:39:08
took out a $20,000 life insurance policy on his new wife the policy included a double
00:39:15
indemnity clause that meant if she died in an accident and her body wasn't recovered he would receive
00:39:25
$440,000 one month before the dupal family arrived in Florida the blue Bell's owner Harold Peg hired Julian
00:39:33
Harvey as a skipper Harvey would receive $300 per month as well as free accommodation on
00:39:40
the catch in exchange for taking tourists out on charted Cruisers the duper alts had been the
00:39:47
first clients that Harvey had taken out after Terry Joe was rescued her description of what had happened on
00:39:55
Sunday November 12th Ed to a violent attack caused by a person not a weather event and a number of people had noticed
00:40:05
holes and inconsistencies in Harvey's story from the start While most of the crew from the
00:40:12
golf lion who rescued Harvey empathized with him others were suspicious of him some found his demeanor odd noting that
00:40:21
he was joking and laughing despite his ordeal and the presence of 7-year-old Renee super Al's
00:40:28
Body they heard Harvey tell their captain that he didn't know what happened to his
00:40:34
wife then later he amended his story when talking to the crew saying he had seen Mary jump
00:40:42
overboard Harvey had also initially told the gulf Lion's crew that Arthur and deene dupal had been killed instantly
00:40:49
when they were struck by the falling Mast yet at the hearing several days later he said only that some passengers
00:40:56
had been injured the Coast Guard investigators noted some contradictions too they found Harvey story of a fire
00:41:07
unlikely there was a lighthouse stationed just a few miles from where the Blue Bell sank yet the lookout there
00:41:15
hadn't seen any flames and Harvey's description of how the broken Mast plunged directly down into the boat's
00:41:22
deck wasn't consistent with what they'd seen in similar circumstances if a mast was broken by heavy wind it
00:41:31
tended to fall sideways and overboard then there was the fact that Harvey hadn't used the flares in the
00:41:38
ding's emergency kit to signal for help supposedly because he either forgot about them or couldn't be bothered
00:41:45
rumaging through the back following extensive interviews and investigations the Coast Guard officers
00:41:54
in charge of the Bluebell case put together a theory they suspected that Julian Harvey
00:42:01
had intended to kill his wife Mary while out at Sea and dispose of her body overboard with the aim of collecting the
00:42:08
life insurance payout Harold Peg had noticed scratches on Harvey's arm after he was
00:42:15
rescued Harvey said they were from scrambling through the rigging after the yacht's Mast broke but Harold was
00:42:23
adamant that the scratches were clearly made by fingernails and Mary had had long
00:42:29
nails investigators thought Harvey had probably stabbed Mary in their shared cabin and she fought back his plan was
00:42:38
likely to later throw her body overboard when everyone else was asleep and discover her missing the following
00:42:46
morning the Coast Guard investigators believed that Harvey hadn't intended for the dupal family to die or the Blue Bell
00:42:54
to sink but perhaps Arthur duper Al had come across Harvey while he was either murdering Mary or disposing of her
00:43:02
body to cover up his crime Harvey killed Arthur and then Jean dupal who might have also been a
00:43:10
witness the noise woke Brian dupal who cried out for his father Harvey killed him
00:43:19
too Terry Joe had spotted the bodies of her mother and brother lying dead on the
00:43:24
floor but hadn't seen anyone else because she had been sleeping downstairs Terry Joe was initially left to drown as
00:43:33
Harvey scrambled to sink the catch so that the mass murder would instead look like a terrible
00:43:39
accident when she went upstairs and interrupted Harvey it appeared he had considered killing her
00:43:46
too he subsequently appeared in her doorway apparently carrying her brother's rifle ultimately he hadn't shot her as
00:43:56
he decided she would drown anyway with the catch sinking an autopsy indicated Renee dupal
00:44:04
had drowned but couldn't determine if this had been done intentionally by another person or was the result of the
00:44:10
Blue Bell sinking investigators suspected her mother Jean might have tried to Shield
00:44:17
her during the attack and in the process of Jean's murder Rene was struck or hit
00:44:22
her head falling unconscious she subsequently Dr when the Blue Bell went under and Harvey
00:44:29
retrieved her floating body to bolster his story investigators believed that Harvey
00:44:37
hadn't used the emergency kit flares to signal for help because he didn't want to be found too close to the site where
00:44:44
the Blue Bell sank if the wreckage was recovered evidence on board might have disproved his claims about what
00:44:53
happened the Blue Bell was never found and to nor were the bodies of the four other
00:45:01
victims Captain Harvey's demeanor throughout the Coast Guard hearing had been interesting he was obviously nervous and
00:45:09
stammered often he became even more uncomfortable after it was announced that Terry Joe dupal had been found
00:45:16
alive abruptly leaving the hearing without explanation just before noon on Friday
00:45:24
November 17 the day after Harvey left the hearing a cleaner at Miami's Sandman Motel knocked on the door of room
00:45:33
17 a man named John Monroe had booked the room for one night the previous day it was just before checkout time and
00:45:43
she needed to make up the room when there was no response from inside the cleaner unlocked the door and
00:45:50
let herself in she was met by a blast of cool air from the air conditioner which had been
00:45:57
left on the breeze was pleasant due to the stifling Miami Heat outside but the cleaner also noticed a
00:46:07
slightly strange smell she thought little of it and set about doing her job the room had two twin beds and the
00:46:17
cleaner began to strip the sheets from one when she pulled back the covers she noticed one of the sheets had a small
00:46:24
patch of blood on it she then went to the bathroom to gather the taws the door was closed and when she
00:46:33
tried to open it the handle moved but the door wouldn't open the cleaner could tell there was
00:46:40
something pushed up against its other side it felt like something large and soft she noticed that the strange odor
00:46:50
she'd smelt was also stronger in this part of the room suddenly realizing that what she
00:46:56
could smell was blood she began to scream the hotel manager was summoned by the commotion and he too tried to open
00:47:06
the bathroom door when he couldn't push it open he called the police a patrol officer arrived at the
00:47:15
scene at 12:14 p.m. and was able to force the door partially open by using his shoulder sticking his head in the open
00:47:24
space he saw the body of a man lying on the floor covered in blood the officer had previously worked
00:47:31
at the Miami Harbor and recognized the man as blue bell captain Julian Harvey investigators were able to piece
00:47:41
together Harvey's movements after leaving Coast Guard headquarters the day prior he had retrieved a suitcase from
00:47:48
his car which was parked nearby then caught a cab to the Sandman Motel at 11:00 a.m. he checked in using
00:47:57
the false name of John Monroe and said he was from Tampa after going to his room he hadn't
00:48:04
been seen again on a desk inside Harvey's motel room investigators found a letter he had
00:48:11
written to a friend he mentioned nothing about the Blue Bell or what had happened to it but
00:48:19
wrote I'm a nervous wreck and just can't continue I'm going out now I guess I either don't like life or don't know
00:48:29
what to do with it after sealing the envelope he wrote on it cremate and bury at Sea before
00:48:38
scribbling over the word cremate hary had unpacked his suitcase hung up his clothes and left his
00:48:46
suitcase on the luggage rack he pinned a $10 note to his pillow as a tip for the
00:48:52
cleaner the blood on the bed suggested he'd first tried to suicide there before getting up and moving to the
00:49:00
bathroom he'd taken two photographs with him one of his wife Mary and the other of his son from a previous
00:49:09
relationship these photos were found propped up on the toilet tank and were visible from the spot on the floor where
00:49:16
Harvey died he had used a razor blade to make multiple Cuts in numerous places all
00:49:23
over his body until he eventually bled out investigators were struck by the brutality of the scene Harvey had been
00:49:33
left mutilated by his many injuries friends suspected he had been left devastated into guilt ridden by the
00:49:41
mass casualties on the Blue Bell including the loss of his wife but this Theory fell apart several
00:49:48
days later when Terry Joe dupal was finally well enough to tell her story because Harvey had taken his own
00:49:56
life before investigators had a chance to arrest him no one would ever answer for what happened to the Blue Bell and
00:50:03
its passengers in a court of [Music] law on Wednesday April 25 1962 the Coast Guard issued a detailed statement
00:50:17
following a 5mon long investigation they concluded that Captain Julian Harvey murdered his wife
00:50:24
and three members of the Dupo family before scuttling the blue bow the miraculous survival of Terry Joe
00:50:32
dupal was deemed to have been aided by several factors including mild weather and the fact that a slick of oil from
00:50:40
the sunken catch had enveloped the water around her life float deterring Predators such as
00:50:47
sharks Terry Joe was also an outdoorsy child at home in Wisconsin she had played survival themed games by herself
00:50:56
in the woods that had in some small way prepared her for the plight she later faced Terry Joe's ordeal led to the
00:51:05
Coast Guard mandating that life rafts be bright orange instead of white to make them easier to spot amongst the oceans
00:51:12
White Caps after her recovery in hospital Terry Joe returned home to Green Bay Wisconsin she was raised by her aunt and
00:51:22
uncle alongside her three cousins people from all over the world who had been touched by her story sent
00:51:30
her letters and Gifts the crew of the captain Theo the frighter that rescued her even bought
00:51:37
Terry Joe a life siiz to doll after learning she'd lost one similar in the tragedy when she was 12 years old she
00:51:45
changed her name to Terry spelled t e r e she wanted to escape the name that was
00:51:52
inextricably tied with an Infamous crime and move Beyond being seen as a victim changing her name allowed her to reclaim
00:52:01
her identity and take some control back those around Terry never brought up the tragedy of what had happened to her
00:52:09
family so she learned to avoid the subject as well almost two decades went by before
00:52:17
Terry spoke about it she married and had children without ever having opened up about her
00:52:25
trauma eventually she told her doctor what had happened which gradually led to her being able to discuss it more
00:52:32
openly sharing her story made her feel lighter and eventually she co-wrote a book about the tragedy with survival
00:52:39
expert Richard Logan titled alone orphaned on the ocean the book is a detailed account of the
00:52:47
crime the subsequent events and Terry's life after in an interview about the book's
00:52:54
publication with CBS News Terry revealed that ever since what happened on the Blue Bell she has felt
00:53:01
intuitively drawn to the water and even pursued a career in Water Resources quote Julian Harvey abandoned me
00:53:10
thinking the ocean would swallow me but instead it created a bond between me and
00:53:17
water in our book I describe what it was like to be dependent on the water for the 4 days I waited to be
00:53:24
rescued I write about the ocean life around me and the power of that experience I went on to protect the
00:53:33
water that had protected me as a little girl water is life and it is soothing for me to be on the beach I find I can
00:53:42
think clearly relax and feel closer to my lost family reflecting on the message she
00:53:51
wanted to share with readers Terry stated I always believe believed I was saved for a reason but it took me 50
00:53:59
years to gain the strength to be able to give other people hope with my story if just one person goes on to heal
00:54:07
from a life tragedy my journey will have been worth it I am a survivor trying to reach other
00:54:15
survivors it took me so long but I want people to understand that there is no timeline with healing it is never too
00:54:24
late [Music] e