Manuelita Dejos Pierce, a 39-year-old woman of Filipino descent, vanished on October 29, 2000, while on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Enchantment of the Seas. The vessel was returning to Port Everglades in Florida after a week-long Caribbean voyage with stops in Key West, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. A crew member last saw Pierce in a hallway at approximately 1:00 a.m. on the final day of the cruise. She has not been seen or heard from since.
The alarm was raised when a cabin steward discovered Pierce's unpacked belongings in her room after the nearly 2,000 other passengers had disembarked. Her wallet, cash, passport, and other personal items were all found in her cabin. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a search of the waters, and local law enforcement searched the ship, but neither found any trace of her. At the time of her disappearance, the ship was approximately 140 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
There are unconfirmed reports that Pierce may have had a dispute with her traveling companion shortly before she went missing. Her boyfriend, who was traveling with her and his family, disembarked the ship without reporting her missing. He later suggested to her family that she had been despondent, a claim her family strongly denies. Family members stated that Pierce was a responsible person, especially concerning her children, and had recently requested a job transfer to be closer to her daughters and new granddaughter.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's North Miami Beach office is handling the investigation into Pierce's disappearance. Her case remains unsolved. Pierce, also known as Mandy, has several distinguishing characteristics, including a triangular birthmark above her right breast, another birthmark on her back, tattooed eyebrows, and scars from breast augmentation.Last Seen: Oct 29, 2000
