Terrifying shadow seen by Cameron Robbins as official confirms missing teen jumped from ship into shark-infested waters
A HORRIFYING video has revealed a shadow near a teenager who jumped from a cruise ship into shark-infested waters.
Louisiana teen Cameron Robbins, 18, was last seen swimming at around 11.30pm near the Blackbeard’s Revenge sunset cruise in the Bahamas on May 24.
It is believed by some officials and bystanders that the teen could have been the victim of a shark attack.
Commodore Raymond King of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) noted on Tuesday that the dark waters near Athol Island were “really shark-infested,” per Daily Mail.
Courtesy of a clip taken of Robbins’ evening dip off the cruise ship, the teen appeared to ignore pleas from those aboard to grab onto a buoy and swim in the opposite direction before vanishing.
Viewers on Twitter pointed out a reflection near the hull of the boat that they believe could have been a shark that ultimately pulled Robbins underwater.
“Haunting, but you can see the exact moment the shark gets him,” one user said and attached a screenshot of a terrifying shadow only inches away from the 18-year-old, per The New York Post.
Another explained that Robbins could have seen the shark and decided to bolt, which is why he appeared to abandon a life ring.
“He initially goes for the buoy but then turns around when he sees the shark, ultimately disappearing into the water, likely dragged down. Very sad,” they noted.
Others even claimed they could see a fin poking out of the water.
Robbins was celebrating his high school graduation with friends on Blackbeard’s Revenge, modeled after a pirate ship.
The group, which included teens from other high schools surrounding University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, was staying at Atlantis Paradise Island only three days after graduation.
Witnesses said that friends dared the teen to leap.
They also noted that classmates immediately urged Robbins to grab the life ring, but he seemed to notice something and swim away.
The Bahamas is known to be home to highly-aggressive bull and tiger sharks, per TravelPeri.
King further noted this to be the case for the waters surrounding Athol Island, but didn’t want the teen’s family to “lose hope.”
“I can tell you that area where an individual reportedly jumped over, it’s an area that is really shark-infested as well,” he told Daily Mail.
“It is so unfortunate but I don’t want the family to lose hope.”
Aside from sharks, King continued that the likelihood of a person’s survival decreased if they jumped from a boat without a life vest and were intoxicated.
“The probability of survival decreases significantly, particularly if a person did not have on a life vest and particularly if a person is perceived to be intoxicated,” King noted.
Crews from the boat and several agencies, including the United States Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, spanned over 325 miles since May 24 searching for Robbins.
After no leads, the US Coast Guard called the search off for the teen on Friday night.
“Our Coast Guard command center and aircrews based in Miami supported RBDF search and rescue efforts since the initial report Wednesday evening and continued through Friday evening,” they wrote in a statement.
“We were informed by the RBDF this evening that they were suspending the active search efforts pending further developments and were not requesting further Coast Guard assistance after notifying the Robbins family.”
The US Coast Guard added: “We offer our sincerest condolences to Cameron Robbins’ family and friends.”
Robbins was a star baseball player at University Laboratory School.
His family has since released a statement after the announcement of the search end.
“The Bahamas government has called off the rescue for Cameron, and we are returning to Baton Rouge,” they said, per Daily Mail.
“We want to thank the Bahamas government, the US Coast Guard, the United Cajun Navy, and Congressman Garrett Graves for everything they have done for us.”
“In this time of grief, we thank our family, friends, and well-wishers for granting us the privacy we need to properly remember our son and mourn his loss,” the family continued.
Classmates in Baton Rouge held a vigil for the teen last week.