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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Fiona Leishman

Shadowy image near missing baseball star that could explain mysterious disappearance

A shadowy image captured in a video of the moment a missing teen baseball star jumps off a party boat has sparked speculation he was swimming away from a shark.

As the mystery surrounding the disappearance of teen baseball star Cameron Robbins continues, a shadowy image has added further concerns to the location of the 18-year-old.

Cameron was on a graduation trip in the Bahamas, having recently graduated from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when the incident happened.

He and a classmate from his and other Baton Rouge schools were on the Blackbeard's Revenge sunset cruise when he jumped off the boat.

It's said he jumped off the boat, into the waters on Wednesday, May 24, at around 11.30pm as part of a dare - wearing no life jacket, and just his swimming trunks.

Some people are convinced they can see a shark in the footage of Cameron jumping overboard (Twitter)
Cameron jumped overboard without a life jacket in just his swimming trunks (Twitter)

Harrowing footage released after he vanished shows bystanders starting to worry, shouting "grab the buoy."

However, Cameron is seen drifting in the opposite direction to the buoy, before vanishing into the darkness.

But as his classmates urge him to grab hold of the life preserver, footage shows the teen apparently fixated on a shadowy shape in the water, before immediately swimming away from it.

Now, the footage has sparked speculation and debate online as to whether Cameron was targeted by a shark.

As people watch and analyse the footage to try and work out exactly what happened to the teen, some say they can clearly see a shark in the video.

Cameron, pictured on the left with his mum and brother, had recently graduated from University Laboratory School in Louisiana (Facebook)

In an update on Monday, May 29, Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) Commodore Raymond King confirmed that the waters where Cameron went overboard is "really shark infested".

The Bahamas is known to be home to highly aggressive shark species including tiger and bull sharks.

Discussing the video on social media, one user said: "The video doesn't lie, he was attacked by a shark and taken under."

Another points out: "You can see the shark to the left of the video."

Cameron had only arrived on the island hours before the boat incident. (Facebook)

While one user was adamant they "saw the fin" in the short clip.

Giving the update, Commodore King said: "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.

"I can tell you that the area where an individual reportedly jumped over, it's an area that is really shark infested as well. It is so unfortunate, but I don't want the family to lose hope."

After Cameron jumped overboard a huge search effort was launched, including the US Coast Guard.

In total, the Coast Guard plotted and searched an area of 325-square-miles searching for the teen baseball star. However, the search was called off on Friday, May 26.

Tributes have poured in for Cameron from those who knew him.

Baseball coach Justin Morgan described him as a "kid who is truly loved by his teammates, teachers, and fellow classmates."

He said: "He is a fierce competitor on the baseball field. He is a hard worker both on and off of the playing field."

Cameron's family, who flew out to the Bahamas as the search got underway, returned to Baton Rouge.

In a statement they said: "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."

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