Cameron Robbins’ family are heartbroken as they search for answers after a teenager falls into shark-infested waters and never came out
CAMERON Robbins’ family are looking for answers after harrowing cellphone footage showed the high school grad jumping off a cruise ship and never returning.
It has been two weeks on Wednesday since the teenager went missing during graduation and his family is still trying to figure out what went wrong.
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“He disappeared at sea after being reported missing off the coast of Athol Island in the Bahamas on the evening of May 24,” read an obituary in Robbins’ honor.
“Although he left this world far too early, he lived a life full of good friends and family. He was funny and kind, but also intense and ambitious.”
Robbins, 18, had graduated from the University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, three days before he disappeared.
In grainy cellphone video, the teenager’s friends and fellow revelers could be heard shouting at him after he jumped in the water.
“That damn boy jumped off! Oh my damn god! Oh shut up! Oh bye bye!” one person yelled.
Robbins is then seen swimming away from a lifebuoy as witnesses urge him to grab the device.
A few meters from where he swam, a mysterious shadow can be seen in the water.
Many have speculated whether the waters were infested with sharks. However, experts believe several other factors need to be considered.
“We consulted with oceanography and fisheries experts,” said Brian Trascher, vice president and spokesman for the United Cajun Navy New York Post.
United Cajun Navy is a non-profit organization that has worked closely with the Robbins family.
“They don’t think … he’s come into contact with any type of shark or predatory sea life.”
“And until we get a better video or something more conclusive, that will be our position.”
Butch Hendricks, president and founder of public safety scuba training company Lifeguard Systems, told the outlet that shark attacks are not common in the Bahamas.
Hendricks has a decades-long career as a Caribbean waters specialist.
“I don’t hear about a lot of shark attacks in the Bahamas,” he said.
Hendricks added that boats like the one Robbins and his classmates were on typically serve food that is often thrown or spilled into the water, which tends to attract marine life, including sharks.
Most of these creatures, including sharks, “are smart enough to realize that it’s a boat that’s constantly coming out and coming out of the feed,” Hendricks said.
However, he said the behavior of the unidentified object seen in the video with Robbins was not indicative of a shark.
“The trend isn’t like that [the shark] He came in, took him and carried him down,” he said, noting the lack of blood in the water.
“They would hit him, that might be enough to incapacitate him completely.” [him]. That might be enough to drown him right there.
It’s also unusual for a shark to actually eat an attacked human, Hendricks said.
“The tendency more often is to take a bite, shake, and then decide that’s not what you wanted.”
After two days, the US Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defense Force halted their search efforts after finding no sign of Robbins.
Hendricks said officers likely would have searched the surface for evidence that Robbins was floating in the water because his remains would most likely have reached the surface had he not sustained physical injuries in the water.
“It happened about a week and a half ago,” he said. “He should have been swimming at this water temperature.”
Hendricks added that body temperature and water depth could also play a role in whether or not Robbins resurfaced.
“It could well mean that the body is gone forever,” he said.
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