Family mourns 18-year-old who died on Carnival cruise ship

5 days ago 16

ARTICLE AD BOX

The FBI is investigating her death.

November 9, 2025, 11:12 PM

The household of 18-year-old Anna Kepner, who was reported dormant portion aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise vessel connected Saturday, says they volition retrieve her arsenic a happy, bubbly, straight-A pupil with a agleam aboriginal ahead.

Anna, who was acceptable to postgraduate from precocious schoolhouse successful May, was traveling aboard the vessel connected a way from Miami to the Caribbean erstwhile she died. Details surrounding her decease person not been released.

The vessel returned to Miami connected Saturday, wherever the FBI has since opened an probe into her death.

“When she walked into a room, she would airy it up,” her household told ABC News. “If you were sad, she’d marque you laugh. She would gag astir and beryllium the funniest small idiosyncratic successful school.”

Carnival Cruise Line confirmed her passing successful a statement, saying, “Our absorption is connected supporting the household of our impermanent and cooperating with the FBI.”

Her household says they are inactive coming to presumption with the nonaccomplishment of a young pistillate filled with dreams and excitement for her future.

“She had conscionable finished taking the trial to articulation the military,” they said. “She was already talking to recruiters and had chosen her vocation path. She wanted to bash thing that would assistance her community.”

The household hopes Anna volition beryllium remembered for her generosity and spirit. She was profoundly progressive successful her community, volunteering successful her grandparents’ 55+ vicinity and helping retired astatine section businesses successful her hometown of Titusville, Florida.

“She was a radical person,” her household said. “She loved being astir people. She had that benignant of vigor that conscionable drew you successful with her grin and the mode she carried herself. She was specified an casual idiosyncratic to speech to.”

Her relatives find comfortableness successful knowing Anna lived her 18 years to the fullest. She was an jock who began gymnastics astatine the property of 2 and aboriginal joined her precocious school’s varsity cheerleading team. She loved being adjacent the water, earning her boater’s licence and scuba certification, and enjoyed shopping, makeup, and spending clip with friends.

Anna was particularly adjacent to her grandmother, her household said, who affectionately called her “Anna Banana.”

“She was the champion kid you could ever meet,” her household said. “We'll ever retrieve her for who she was.”