None of that happened and yesterday, nearly three months after Smith mysteriously vanished from a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean, his family issued their first public comments since Smith disappeared July 5.
The statement, signed by Hagel, parents Maureen and George Smith III, sister Bree Smith and family, is the first time family members have publicly said anything about Smith or his disappearance. The family has declined all media requests, and yesterday, they declined to say anything further than what was in the statement -- which was published today on the eve of his birthday.
The statement gives an inside look into the family's ordeal from when they first learned of Smith's disappearance, to later learning that more may have happened on the cruise than they thought. At the end, the family calls for legislative changes to the cruise line industry that would better protect passengers and their family.
"We believe his legacy can be one that helps other families be spared of tragedies like ours," the family said.
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who earned praise from the Smith family for the help he and his staff have provided them, said he will ask to hold congressional hearings into the cruise industry.
"It has just been extraordinarily painful for the Smith family and the community," said Shays, who said he knew of Smith and his father from the time his campaign offices were in the same retail building as the Cos Cob liquor store.
"What's more painful is what may have happened, how they heard about it and how poorly this kind of circumstance is followed up on. It raises all kinds of questions."
The hearings will help educate legislators and the public on the frequency of such tragedies that occur on cruise ships and the way the cruise lines respond, he said.
"How often is someone missing?" Shays said. "Is this the perfect place to commit the perfect crime?"
There also are jurisdictional problems investigating these tragedies on cruise ships because many different companies may be involved, Shays said. Cruise companies incorporate under one country, base their operations in another country, operate their ships under possibly a third country's flag, carry passengers and crew members from many different nationalities and travel through multiple international ports of call.
"What kind of investigation do they do when a passenger is missing?" he asked of cruise lines. "Do they let all the passengers get off when a passenger is missing?"
Shays said similar hearings have been held on this subject but they haven't led to any changes.
"The Smith family has really asked us -- and I totally agree -- could we do the kind of research again that would help them come to grips with this issue," Shays said.
Royal Caribbean International said that passenger safety is its highest priority. In the case of Smith's disappearance, there are too many outstanding questions to say what may have happened, said Lynn Martenstein, vice president of corporate communications for Royal Caribbean.
"We have very strict safety procedures, strict polices," she said. "We don't know what happened to Mr. Smith. We know he disappeared, we know that it is very, very tragic."
Martenstein said that Royal Caribbean has not had any recent contact with the Smith or Hagel family and doesn't know if the family has begun any sort of legal action.
"We have not received notice of a lawsuit," she said. "We did reach out to the families early on. Our president, Adam Goldstein, wrote both Jennifer and Mr. and Mrs. Smith expressing our profound sympathies and assuring them we were doing everything we could to assist the FBI in their investigation. We have not heard directly from the family."
One of the last times most family members saw Smith was at his wedding in Newport, R.I., in June. He and Hagel then went to board a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship.
"In our wildest dreams, we could have never imagined that his lifetime would only last ten more days," family members said.
Smith disappeared from the ship in the early morning of July 5, leaving behind a mysterious trail of clues, including blood inside the couple's cabin, on the outside balcony and on a ship overhang.
Passengers reported seeing the couple drink heavily the night of July 4 and socialize with other passengers and ship staff, according to media reports. At some point toward the end of the festivities, the couple became separated from one another.
Those who stayed in nearby cabins reported hearing Smith return to his cabin with some other passengers. One man said he heard sounds of people having a party, of people leaving the cabin and then other noises, including a thud, hours before officials and Hagel discovered Smith missing.
The FBI has opened an investigation and the case is still ongoing, said officials who declined to comment further.
The family's statement thanked the FBI for working "to bring closure and justice to our lives." The family also gave a reason for choosing to remain silent despite intense public and media interest in the disappearance:
"We believe our silence has been our strength, for it allows the investigation to move swiftly forward without any unnecessary interference," the family said.
