Rebecca Coriam was a cheerful and upbeat young woman with a penchant for making the world smile with her. Her exuberance and intelligence had even got her the perfect job as a youth counselor aboard the Disney Cruise Ship, Wonder.
But in March of 2011, as Wonder made its way languidly down the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Rebecca received some startling news over the telephone. Visibly upset and seemingly agitated, she left the employee lounge and walked out onto the ship’s deck. After that fateful morning, no one would ever see Rebecca again…
Rebecca Coriam was born in Chester, England on March 11, 1987. She was a brave, some would say, brazen child, who loved to take risks and be the center of attention. Rebecca, or Bex as she was called by her parents, lived with them and her sister Rachael, as well as her two foster brothers. Owing to her own adventurous nature and the fact that her family had been very active in the community, Bex even got a job working at the local zoo.
Once she had gotten into her teens, however, the “adventurous” life of a zookeeper was just not enough for Rebecca. She joined the British Army cadets and got a staff volunteer position with them where she was able to participate in outdoor events. In college she attended Plymouth University, studying sports science but continued some additional classes in youth studies at Liverpool Hope University. Once college was done, though, it was time for her to find a career worthy of her drive…
In June of 2010, she went onto London, where she had heard the Disney Cruise line was looking to fill positions. After a grueling process involving hundreds of applicants, Bex was hired and sent to Walt Disney World in Florida for training. With her training complete, Bex was placed aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship, based in the Port of Los Angeles.
During the course of her tenure aboard the Wonder, Bex visited all Disney ports of call on the Mexican Riviera and even went through the Panama Canal. Sadly, her grandfather died while she was away and she had to take a break and return to England for the funeral. This would be the very last time her family got to see her in person, though for a time they still communicated through Facebook or Skype. That is, until about six weeks later…
It was March 21, 2011, Rebecca Coriam sent her parents what would prove to be her very last message to her parents via facebook, that she’d call them tomorrow. Her mother replied, but then a full a full 12 hours passed without any sort of response from Rebecca. No calls, no emails, no messages. The two parents went to bed worried that night. And on the morning of March 22, the phone rang. It was a Disney official calling to tell them that their daughter was missing.
