A 56-year-old woman who was the fiancée of ’80s rock band Faster Pussycat’s frontman Taime Downe is presumed deceased after falling overboard on a cruise ship.
Kimberly Burch’s mother said that her daughter was accompanying Downe during the band’s performance on The ’80s Cruise, a 1980s-themed Royal Caribbean cruise, in early March.
Faster Pussycat frontman Taime Downe’s fiancée fell overboard on The ’80s Cruise
While on the concert cruise with her fiancé, Taime Downe, 60, Kimberly Burch was presumed dead after reportedly falling overboard.
Burch’s mother, Carnell Burch, told TMZ in an interview that her daughter went on the cruise to accompany the musician, her partner of about six years, on the seven-day roundtrip, which began on Sunday, March 2, in Miami.
Carnell said Taime Downe called to inform her that Kimberley fell overboard on the first day of the cruise.
Hours before her passing, Kimberley shared a photo with Downe on the ship, captioned: “We made it to @the80scruise.” on her social media.
Kimberley Burch’s mother said the couple had a “heated argument” before her daughter’s passing
Carnell said she was informed that Kimberley had been drinking during the cruise, but she emphasized that it was not something her daughter would typically do.
Carnell also mentioned that her daughter didn’t have any emotional issues that she knew of.
She also detailed that Taime Downe and her daughter had a “heated argument” before Kimberley fell overboard.
Reports said Burch’s body has not been found
While the details of how Kimberley fell from the ship remain uncertain, Carnell said her daughter “wouldn’t purposefully hurt herself.”
According to reports, her body has not been found yet.
Carnell shared that she hadn’t contacted the authorities, though the family was trying to get a hold of officials to recover their beloved daughter’s body.
A passenger onboard shared, “It looks like the woman ‘jumped’ from the balcony”
Passengers onboard the cruise liner shared details about the incident on social media.
Some users claimed that she jumped from a room balcony. A user on X shared a thread of posts on March 3, saying, “Currently on the #RCL Explorer of the Seas for the #80scruise. Unfortunately, we have a ‘woman overboard’ situation, and boats have been deployed. We are currently 80+ miles from Miami at 11pm PST. Not good.”
“It looks like the woman ‘jumped’ from the balcony of her 8th floor room after an argument with her partner. This is our 15th cruise, and the first time we’ve actually experienced this,” the user added.
Another passenger said safety boats were deployed in search of Kimberly
Another passenger also told The Hollywood Reporter, “There was an announcement over the PA saying someone went overboard, so the ship was going to stop and turn around to try and locate the person.
“[The] ship was stopped for a few hours. Safety boats were deployed with floodlights to illuminate the surrounding area. Another cruise ship nearby had its floodlights on searching as well. My wife spoke with some people on one of the decks saying they heard that it was a woman and it was caught on camera. Can’t confirm though.”
The passenger also shared that eventually “the ship powered up and off we went.”
“This morning a PA announcement said that the US Coast Guard had taken over the search. We arrived at Nassau, Bahamas, a few hours behind schedule. No excursions were canceled. Haven’t heard anything since,” they added.
The search for Kimberley Burch’s body was reportedly halted after the Coast Guard deployed a helicopter
A statement from a Royal Caribbean representative that was shared with TMZ said, “Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort, is working with local authorities, and we are providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share.”
According to the United States Coast Guard, the incident happened about 20 miles away from Freeport, Bahamas.
The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and other personnel in a bid to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force to search for Kimberly in open waters, which was reportedly halted later.
1980s glam band Faster Pussycat was featured on the themed cruise
Faster Pussycat was formed in 1985 and emerged from the ’80s Los Angeles glam rock scene. They had a successful career through the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over 2 million records worldwide.
The band broke up in 1993 but reformed in 2001.
With Taime Downe as their lead singer, the band is known for songs like Babylon, Bathroom Wall, House of Pain, and Nonstop to Nowhere. The band was featured on the nostalgic cruise alongside other bands that made their mark in the ’80s scene, including Squeeze, Adam Ant, Tiffany, and Men at Work.
Online users shared their comments on the tragic incident
