James “Jimmy” Scavone was 22 years old when he disappeared during what should have been a celebratory Caribbean cruise. He was from Meriden, Connecticut, and public missing-person records identify him as a White male with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing roughly 160 to 165 pounds. NamUs lists his date of last contact as July 5, 1999, and places the case under Meriden, Connecticut, while describing the last known setting as the Carnival Cruise ship Destiny
at sea in international waters near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
James had recently graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and the cruise was reportedly part of a post-graduation trip. He was traveling aboard the Destiny with his best friend and members of his friend’s family on a seven-day itinerary that began in Miami, Florida, and was scheduled to include stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. In the early morning hours of July 5, 1999, the ship was still at sea between Miami and San Juan, turning a hopeful trip into the beginning of a painful mystery for everyone who loved him.
The last known account places James in the ship’s social areas shortly after midnight. According to The Charley Project, he charged drinks to his account around midnight and was later seen leaving the ship’s disco or dance club at about 1:00 a.m. His friends reportedly said he was not feeling well and planned to stop at the men’s restroom before returning to his cabin. Other public summaries place the last sighting at about 12:30 a.m. aboard the Carnival Destiny while it was at sea near San Juan. After that point, James was never heard from again.
When James vanished, he was reportedly wearing a navy blue Tommy Hilfiger polo-style shirt, tan slacks, sandals, and a silver chain necklace with a tennis-racket pendant. Records also note identifying features that could help distinguish him: a raised horseshoe-shaped scar on his upper left arm and a mole on the lower right side of his face. Those details are small but deeply human, the kind of information families and investigators preserve because every feature, every article of clothing, and every memory might one day help bring answers.
The investigation has remained difficult because James disappeared from a cruise ship in international waters, a setting where jurisdiction, timing, ship layout, witness recollections, and the vastness of the ocean all complicate the search for certainty. Public records identify the Meriden Police Department as the primary investigating agency, with NamUs listing the case as MP3306. The available online information does not provide a confirmed explanation for what happened after James left the dance club area, and it does not establish whether he suffered an accident, encountered foul play, or vanished under some other circumstance. What remains is the unresolved story of a 22-year-old man from Meriden who boarded a cruise to mark a new chapter in life and disappeared before reaching the first scheduled port, leaving his family, friends, and investigators with a timeline measured in minutes and unanswered questions that have lasted for decades.Last Seen: Jul 5, 1999
