Fund established for White Bear Lake couple still missing after cruise crash

Relatives of Jerry and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake said in a blog post they have not received any news about the whereabouts of the couple. A fund has been set up to help with the costs of searching for the pair. Rescuers temporarily suspended their search for survivors because of safety concerns.

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Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: Jan 17, 2012

There's still no word on a White Bear Lake couple who went missing after a cruise ship sank last Friday off the coast of Italy.

Relatives of Jerry and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake said in a blog post they have not received any news about the whereabouts of their family, according to the Star Tribune.

Fox 9 reports a fund has been established to help defray the costs of searching for the Heils.

Friends and family of Jerry and Barb Heil told Kare 11 they're holding out hope that searchers will find the missing couple. The Church of St. Pius X, where the Heils attended mass every day, is holding a 24-hour vigil.

Also, a woman from Lakeville and her sister were among those on board. In an interview with the Star Tribune, Ronda Rosenthal's husband describes the chaos as hundreds of passengers jumped into the sea and tried to swim to shore.

Operations have been temporarily stopped as rescue crews analyze movements of the shift to assess the safety of rescue efforts, the Associated Press reported early Wednesday morning.

Prosecutors are accusing the captain of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship before passengers had safely evacuated.

The Associated Press has the audio of the dramatic words between the captain and the Italian Coast Guard as the ship was sinking.