09/01/2012 Inside Out North West

Hello, I'm Tony Livesey, for the first programme of the series we

are in Chester where we will find out about the disappearance of a

local cruise liner worker. After a girl disappeared from a cruiser,

this family is still looking for answers. Over 4000 people were on

the ship. She went missing directly under the bridge. Somebody knows

something. And, can we still have fun if we lose the booze. We said

Becky the challenge of enjoying a dry December. I have something to

tell you. For a month, and that month is December, I am not

For many of us a cruise is a dream holiday, strolling along a moonlit

deck with a cocktail in hand, a chance to forget our worries in

comfort and safety. But that image hides a disturbing reality. Since

2000, 172 people have gone missing on cruises worldwide. Rebecca

Coriam, from Chester, disappeared almost ten months ago. For her

parents, finding out what's happened to her has turned into a

living nightmare. Jacey Normand reports.

It sounds like a dream come true, the chance to work and travel the

world on a cruise ship. And that's exactly what Mike and Ann Coriam

thought when their daughter got a job on a luxury liner.

She was over the moon, really. Yes, it was a dream job for her.

She went off to London for the interview and she was really,

really excited. She wanted to see the world and travel.

But this wasn't just any cruise line; this was with Disney, on a

state of the art cruise ship. 24 year old Rebecca couldn't wait to

start work as a youth co-ordinator. Loved working with children. She'd

ring us once, well, at least once a week, if not twice a week, and

she'd send messages, you know, quite a lot.

And she was making a lot of friends?

Oh yes, loads of friend. I couldn't keep up with them all there was so

many. Rebecca loved her job and eagerly

awaited her next voyage. On March 20th the 83,000 tonne Disney Wonder

set sail from Los Angeles on a seven day cruise to the Mexican

Riviera. And she was looking forward to

doing things with you in the future?

Yeah, well she'd got us complimentary tickets to go to

Paris, Disney Land, and she rang me on the Sunday, really excited to

say she'd got the tickets. That was the last time Ann was ever

to hear her daughter's voice. Just over 24 hours later Rebecca was

reported missing from duty. Just going to bed and the phone

rang, erm, Mike answered, didn't you?

Yeah, yeah, horrible, horrible time. What did they say to you?

Erm, they just said, "Sorry to phone you but Rebecca's missing at

sea." What's going through your mind at

that moment? Just totally stunned.

Shocked, weren't we? Yeah.

Mike and Ann flew out to Los Angeles to meet the ship as it

docked. I feel like she is a lie. don't feel she is gone from us.

The Mexican Navy and US coastguard made a coastal sweep of the area

but found nothing. The only lead was CCTV showing a phone call

Rebecca made the morning she disappeared. Disney say it showed

her drunk and distressed, which might suggest she could have been

depressed and jumped overboard. But the Coriams didn't get that

impression at all. We spoke to Rebecca's friend. She

just said that she'd been a little bit upset, not gone into any detail,

erm, and had told her she'd calmed down and then gone off to bed, that

she was working at nine the next morning.

But whatever she was upset about was not something that causes you

any alarm now? Well, we don't know.

We don't know what, but we know our daughter, she wouldn't jump off a

ship. We know deep in our hearts. We all know that. All her friends

know that. So, if she wasn't depressed and

didn't jump, what did happen to Rebecca? The Bahamian Police won't

release the CCTV footage, but Disney says after the phone call

she made Rebecca went to deck five, and she'd have been captured on

camera if she'd returned. But she wasn't seen on film again, and when

deck five was searched, one of her flip-flops was found, which begs

the question: could she have fallen overboard accidentally? I did a

total of six years on cruise ships. Mostly around the Caribbean, but I

did do two world cruises. Geoff Furlong is a retired

policeman and works for the International Cruise Victims

Association. It's extremely difficult to just go

overboard on a ship. I mean, particularly in relation to Disney,

because the Disney ship, from its creation, was built with children

in mind, so to that end it would be nigh impossible just to fall over.

However, doesn't mean that you can't climb over and fall over. I

mean, accidents will happen wherever you maybe, but just to

fall over is really not a reality. For her own piece of mind, Ann went

up to deck five to investigate. I had to get underneath a veil, a

four feet high veil, and then the metal part of the ship was, it was

about six foot high, erm, and you couldn't climb on it, it just felt

impossible that a wave could have taken her over.

By now the Coriams were starting to despair. There was no evidence of

foul play but people on cruise ships don't just vanish into thin

air. All Mike and Ann could do was put their faith in the police

investigation. A 13 storey ship would be nigh

impossible to search in detail. You could search the obvious places,

open spaces, public spaces, cabins and all the rest of it, but it's a

myriad of hiding places, so if something untoward were to happen

to somebody there would be countless places on board a cruise

ship that one could dispose of something.

So, even for a highly trained forensic team searching a ship is a

daunting task. Unbelievably, the Bahamian Police sent just one man.

So, I said to him, "You've only spent a day and a half, maybe a bit

less, on the ship, have you interviewed any passengers?", and

he said, "No." I couldn't believe it then. There were 2,500

passengers on that ship and just under a thousand crew, so, I

thought, what sort of investigation's that? He was on his

own, no forensic team with him, or anything like that at all.

Everything we were allowed just to bring home. We were told just to

pack everything up. We questioned lots. We questioned why are we

allowed to bring her computer home, has that been checked? Everything

we were allowed to bring home, which we were expecting for it to

be kept you know as part of the investigation, but that didn't

happen. The police officer told the Coriams

they'd receive a full report in three weeks.

We tried phoning and emailing and still, almost ten months later, we

still haven't heard anything. We've tried phoning and emailing

the Bahamian Police as well and no one's got back to us either, but

they have finally posted an appeal for Rebecca on their website.

Whether it's under pressure from us or just a coincidence, we can't say,

it's just a pity they only got round to doing it nine months after

she went missing. We also asked Disney if they think

a thorough investigation has been carried out and if they have any

other CCTV from the day Rebecca went missing. They didn't respond

to any of our questions directly but in a statement they said:

Rebecca's disappearance has been heartbreaking for everyone here at

Disney Cruise Line and our hearts Now, at this point, you might be

wondering why the Coriams don't just contact the British or the

American Police, after all Rebecca's from Chester and Disney's

an American company. Well, it all hinges on the peculiar workings of

International Maritime Law. Because the ship is registered in

the Bahamas, then if the alleged accident, incident, or crime

occurred in international waters, then the United Kingdom police

would have no authority on the ship, nor any other police force, other

than where the ship is registered, in this particular instance the

Bahamas. Do you feel a bit powerless in the

whole thing? Well, yes, when we first got the

news, once we'd found out what was going on and we realised we were

not entitled to any help, no legal help, no police help as such. You

don't think when you go on that ship, you don't think where's the

ship flagged at, where's it registered? And if you do find that

out, it's probably one of the small countries which they haven't got

the resources. I mean, they do what under their regulations they do,

but they haven't got the resources on a global level, which it would

be for them, to do a proper investigation.

The Coriams have set up a website for Rebecca and are campaigning for

better policing of international waters. Until then their search for

their daughter and the truth about her disappearance continues.

have tried to the best we can. There were 4000 people on their

ship, where she went missing was directly under the bridge. Somebody

knows something. We will keep going on. We will find out what happened

to her in the end. Many of us enjoyed times in pubs and bars and

know we probably overdid it a bit. But how much is too much? A

government report released today says we know little about what the

alcohol limit really are and we need a change to the drinking

culture. With this in mind we set Becki the challenge of going right

through the party season without a My girlfriends are coming round for

a drink, which is fairly usual, but what they don't know is that I'm

giving up drink. I think I drink half a bottle a night. Not every

night, cos I've tried to have a couple of nights off. But half a

bottle is too much - and don't ask me about when I go out on a

Saturday night, cos I'm not telling you! I have more than I'm supposed

to have, and I'm being honest. And I think there's a lot of people who

can fool themselves and think it's just one glass. It can be that much

or it can be that much, and it's literally half a bottle. I have

something to tell you. For the month of December, I will not be

drinking. I am giving up alcohol. Why? I think it would be a good

thing to do. I was quite surprised but she is very determined, so I

was surprised. I was surprised she was doing it in December, because

that was the one to avoid, I think we all drink a little bit too much.

It was what I expected, they were shocked that I was doing it in

December, some of them were quite crestfallen because they're

drinking partner will not be drinking with them.

My name is Dr Evans. I will be scanning your liver. Have you had a

scan like this before? Only when I was pregnant.

Time to find out how much damage all that boozing has done. I go for

a scan at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. If it was not

normal, what could you see? We are looking for a normal texture. It is

not too bright. Professor Ian Gilmore is Britain's leading expert

on liver disease and has been advising the government's select

committee ahead of today's report on alcohol abuse. Tell me what you

have found. Firstly, I need to know what you're drinking. Too much.

you understand I unit? I think they are very confusing, but what I

think is a unit might well be two. A unit is a small glass of wine,

100 millilitres. How many glasses do you have a night? Probably three,

half a bottle, sometimes more. If I go to a party, if I admired from a

long time, yes. How many units do you think are in a bottle? 6. Seven.

Eight. 10. On an average night, you have five units. 14 units a week

for a woman means a bottle and a half of wine at per week. Correct.

You look disappointed. I am quite astounded. Professor, I have been

honest with you, you have looked at my liver, you have looked at my

blood, what do you think? results are encouraging, a new

liver looks healthy, it does not look fatty, which is an early sign,

it had a smooth out line, so you do not have cirrhosis, the one thing

we did pick upon is the red cells are a little bit larger than normal.

One of the common causes of that is the red cells being exposed to at

significant amounts of alcohol regularly. That is not a disease in

itself, but it is an indicator that your body is being exposed to

alcohol on a regular basis, so it is going to be really interesting

to see whether after four weeks off the drink, those red cells come

down to a normal level. Enjoy your Christmas. Thank you. It will be

different. All the Inside Out presenters across the country are

taking part in the Dry December experiment. At the end of November,

we all meet up for our final drink. How much do you drink? Honestly,

you say that, but what a ridiculous amount. I will drink three bottles

of wine. To really encourage us to stick to the challenge, a forensic

photographer has come along to show us the effect alcohol can have on

our appearance. I am going to show you in 10 years' time, if you carry

on drinking, what you will look There is quite a bit of weight gain,

your cheeks will be read or, as you can see. I am the famous person in

the world, and that would make me give it up forever. That is

horrible. It accelerates the ageing process. Ageing signs will commend

faster. That is terrible. It is hideous. I will wake up tonight in

a cold sweat having nightmares thinking that is me. I met some new

friends tonight. Would we have got on as well if we had not had a

drink to lose in the situation? I am not sure. We are all nervous

about the challenge. I will still do it. Midnight! 10 days in, no

drink has passed my lips. And here is my new drinks cabinet - soda

water, tonic water, sarsaparilla and for a special treat there's

Vimto. So this is my fantastic array of possible drinks for my

Saturday night whilst watching X Factor. It's been fine - there's

been the odd moment when I've felt under pressure and thought, "I'm

going to have a drink" and then thought, "Oh, no, I can't have a

drink." There has been the odd advert on TV showing alcohol, and

I'm thinking, "ooh, that looks gorgeous," but those moments soon

pass. But because I'm quite focused and I know I'm not allowed, then I

won't have a drink, and I'm sleeping better, and I feel less

tired during the day, and I don't have a slump in the afternoon like

I might have had before, and my skin's better. I know my skin's

better but I think I'm a little bit antisocial. Well, I've given up

drink for two weeks and I've been avoiding going out, so I've come to

Liverpool to get my very first experience of a dry bar. The

Brink's only been open a few months and was set up by the charity

Action On Addiction to provide a safe place for recovering

alcoholics and non-drinkers to socialise away from alcohol. This

group of former addicts from Chester are here on their Christmas

night out. You don't feel like you're being patronised, it's just

like going out but there's no alcohol. I'm proud to say this is

my first Christmas sober. It's a lifestyle thing for me, I've lost

about 4 stone in weight just from not drinking. That is a plus for

you. It is great. I am happy now. It's staffed by former addicts too,

people like Phil, who's been sober for three years now. Can you have a

good time without drink? Very much so. I'm finding I'm coming out of

my shell more and more at the moment. Whereas before, I needed a

drink or drug to get up and dance, particularly in clubs, I don't find

I need that anymore. I can get up and not worry what anyone's

thinking. I don't need the Dutch courage anymore. I'm just happy to

enjoy myself now and enjoy life. Four days to go till Christmas, the

Christmas parties are out in force and this is my Christmas party with

two of my girlfriends - and for the first time ever, I'm not drinking,

so we'll see how it goes and also how long the night lasts!

walked in and I wondered what had happened to her eyes, they looked

really bright., her skin looked so good. * She felt better and she

said she did. It was a huge difference and she is no less fun.

I have been inspired, actually. I thought if she can do it, I can do

it, what she has done has got me thinking, cause I have never not

had a drink for days on end, and I thought if she can do it, I will

try it, so January 1st they will not have a drink for a month. I'm

going to see if there are many benefits, if my eyes are as bright

as hers, so I will give it a go. Well, it was the end of a lovely

Christmas night with my girlfriends, and actually I enjoyed it just as

much as I usually do, and more than I thought I would. Christmas Day,

we have been drinking since my day, but I am consuming my version, non-

alcoholic. Christmas day was especially difficult, and I didn't

really anticipate that, cos Christmas day's not a massive

drinking day, but all my family were drinking steadily, and I was

drinking steadily, but I was drinking tonic water, and I

would've liked a drink, if I'm honest with you, so that was tough.

But, you know, I have felt really good. Smug in the morning when I

wake up cos I've managed it, mornings are great. My sleep - and

I didn't believe this - has definitely got better, and the

point is I can do without alcohol, and I'm going to continue in

January, and it'll be a piece of It is the end of December, I am

back at the Royal in Liverpool and I will find out if this has made

any difference to my body. A month on, how was it for you? It was

extraordinary. It has completely changed my life and it has

completely changed the way I am going to drink alcohol in the

future. I am going to abstain during the week, when I am on my

own, I will drink at the weekends, but I was drinking too much, and

this has been a wake-up call at a good age. As you know from the

results, before you stop drinking there were no serious changes, but

there was one indicator, you red cells were a little larger, and the

have come in -- they have come down in size. That is encouraging. The

most encouraging thing is how much better you felt as a person, and

the insight you have now got into how you got on to a treadmill,

getting home every evening, feeling he had earned a drink, getting the

cork out of the bottle, not always getting it back in again, that is

really interesting. Have our attitudes to alcohol changed over

the last 20 years? It has. I have noticed the way women quite in

groups, often from work, 10 to 20 of them, with the explicit content

of getting drunk. Is that dangerous? Getting drunk

occasionally in itself the dangers are short-term dangers, the

accidents, the violence, the unwanted pregnancies, but it is the

regular daily drinking that puts the at risk of Beaulieu -- puts you

at risk of liver disease. I have been saving this for tonight, a

bottle washed pink champagne, a New year's Eve. My name is written all

over it. I can almost taste it. I really feel I have done myself a

favour by having a month of alcohol, and although I will still enjoy a

drink in future, it will be in moderation. I could take that or

leave that, but I might as well There is more on that story on our

website. That is all for this week. If you missed any of the programme