'That's the biggest thing...just never knowing for sure'
ARLINGTON, Wash. -- At 11:40 p.m. Monday night, Chuck Tuck headed to the cemetery where his fiancee is buried and lit a single candle.
It's a remembrance for what happened exactly one year earlier, when Tuck's cruise to Alaska ended in a tragic mystery as his fiancee lost her life at sea.
"This one year....it's....I'm agonizing," Tuck said Monday night.
Amber Malkuck, 45, went overboard on the Holland America ship Zaandam. Her body was discovered near Alaska's Douglas Island the next day.
The cruise line said there was no sign of foul play and called it a suicide.
"Of course we know that isn't true at all in fact," said Travis Malkuch, Amber's son. "For sure know not for plans we made only three hours prior to that."
This is the first time Chuck or Travis have spoken publicly about the mystery that haunts them.
"That's the biggest thing, just never knowing for sure," Tuck said.
Just six days ago, President Obama signed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act requiring cruise lines to contact the FBI and Coast Guard when there is a suspicious death. And for victims of sexual assault, medications and a forensic exam must now be provided.
"It doesn't do any good for Amber for her family for me right now but it will help do good for other people gonna be traveling on a cruise ship," Tuck said.
In the meantime, Tuck will reflect on his memories with Amber, including meeting her in elementary school. He remembers telling her when they grew up, they would get married.
It's a remembrance for what happened exactly one year earlier, when Tuck's cruise to Alaska ended in a tragic mystery as his fiancee lost her life at sea.
"This one year....it's....I'm agonizing," Tuck said Monday night.
Amber Malkuck, 45, went overboard on the Holland America ship Zaandam. Her body was discovered near Alaska's Douglas Island the next day.
The cruise line said there was no sign of foul play and called it a suicide.
"Of course we know that isn't true at all in fact," said Travis Malkuch, Amber's son. "For sure know not for plans we made only three hours prior to that."
This is the first time Chuck or Travis have spoken publicly about the mystery that haunts them.
"That's the biggest thing, just never knowing for sure," Tuck said.
Just six days ago, President Obama signed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act requiring cruise lines to contact the FBI and Coast Guard when there is a suspicious death. And for victims of sexual assault, medications and a forensic exam must now be provided.
"It doesn't do any good for Amber for her family for me right now but it will help do good for other people gonna be traveling on a cruise ship," Tuck said.
In the meantime, Tuck will reflect on his memories with Amber, including meeting her in elementary school. He remembers telling her when they grew up, they would get married.
