Authorities are no longer investigating the theory that Cameron Robbins was attacked by a shark
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: ROYAL BAHAMAS POLICE FORCE/ WBRZ
Authorities have confirmed they are no longer investigating the theory Cameron Robbins was attacked by a shark as he jumped off a cruise ship last week.
The 18-year-old from Louisiana was celebrating his high school graduation on a sunset cruise in the Bahamas on 24 May.
Robbins recently graduated from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge and was on a cruise trip with students from several other local high schools.
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The group of pals were staying at Atlantis Paradise Island resort in Nassau, and just a few hours after their arrival, they attended a sunset party cruise.
And at around 9.40pm, Robbins jumped off the boat into the 'shark-infested' ocean near Athol Island.
In the days following, footage of Robbins swimming in the dark waters went viral online, which eventually saw Robbins completely vanish out of view.
On 27 May, the search for Robbins was called off, despite the best efforts of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, with the assistance of the US Coast Guard Southeast.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to Cameron Robbins’ family and friends,” they tweeted, explaining they were suspending the search.
Many pointed out that the video footage appeared to show a shadowy object in the water move towards Robbins as he changes direction away from a life preserver.
But Brian Trascher, a spokesperson for the United Cajun Navy, told Fox News the footage is too dark to tell exactly what happened to the recent high school grad, with the theory he was attacked by a shark no longer being investigated at the request of Robbins' family.
"None of the experts consulted can definitely say what's in the video due to the quality and length of the video," Trascher told the outlet.
"The Robbins family has requested that we not entertain that theory any longer, so our official position is that we don't know what happened while Cam was in the water."
Authorities have since designated Robbins as 'lost at sea', which is the same as a death certificate.
A mother of one of the students has claimed friends of Robbins tired to stop the teen from jumping off the ship.
Speaking to Fox News, the woman who wished to remains anonymous, said: "This was a booze cruise, and they were on their way back when this happened.
“My son texted me when it happened, saying, ‘Cameron jumped off. They can’t find him.’ They were out there until 2, 3 in the morning.
“It was a terrible weather that night. The kids were cold, wet and traumatized.
"The girls were in bikinis and bathing suits. The guys were giving them their shirts.
"It was a bad time to bring drunk 18-year-olds out into waters near this island where there’s nothing.”