The wife of the pilot on the missing Titan submersible holding five passengers who failed to make it to the Titanic wreckage has a tragic connection with the historic ship.
Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of the late co-owner of Macy’s department store, Isidor Straus, and his wife, Ida Straus, who died on the ship after it sunk in 1912, according to The New York Times.
They were the two wealthiest people aboard the vessel on its maiden voyage.
The German natives are also known for their love story, which was depicted in the 1997 film “Titanic.”
According to National Archives, Ida Straus refused to leave the ship in a lifeboat without her husband.
“Where you go, I go,” she reportedly said.
Wendy Rush, the wife of Stockton Rush, the OceanGate CEO piloting the submersible that disappeared during a dive to the Titanic wreckage, is a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the ocean liner sank in 1912, archival records show. https://t.co/9ypGG3yD1B
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 22, 2023
The couple was last seen holding hands on the deck before a wave carried them into the sea. Isidor Straus’ body was later recovered.
On June 22, NBC News reported U.S. Coast Guard officials estimated the five passengers could lose air before 7:10 a.m. ET. The location of the submersible is still undetermined as searchers race against the clock to find the vessel.
The Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center shared updates on the search rescue via an internal email obtained by Rolling Stone. It revealed searchers looking for the Canadian aircraft heard “banging” in 30-minute intervals coming from the area where the submarine disappeared.
In a previous statement obtained by the BBC, OceanGate Expeditions, the company that hosted the “Titanic Expedition” expressed its urgency in finding the five missing passengers.
“Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are deeply grateful for the urgent and extensive assistance we are receiving from multiple government agencies and deep-sea companies as we seek to reestablish contact with the submersible,” the company stated.
They concluded, “We pray for the safe return of the crew and passengers.”