Wife of missing sub pilot Stockton Rush descended from Isador and Ida Straus, first-class passengers who died on Titanic: report
The wife of Stockton Rush, the OceanGate CEO who was at the helm of the Titanic-bound submersible when it vanished Sunday, is descended from two wealthy first-class passengers who died when the ship sank in 1912, according to a report.
Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isador Straus — who co-founded Macy’s department store — and Ida Straus, who were among the wealthiest people aboard the Titanic’s ill-fated transatlantic voyage, according to archived records obtained by the New York Times.
The Strauses are remembered for their moving display of love as the ocean liner infamously sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg, a disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people.
Survivors reported seeing Ida Straus refuse a spot on a lifeboat as crews tried to save as many women and children on board as possible.
Instead, she decided to remain onboard the ship with her husband of more than 40 years, according to the Times.
The couple were spotted standing arm in arm on the Titanic’s deck as it sank into the icy waters.
Their tragic love story was depicted in James Cameron’s fictionalized version of the tragedy, his 1997 blockbuster “Titanic,” which features a scene showing an elderly couple holding on to each other in bed as waters rise around them, the Times reported.
Wendy Rush is descended from one of the couple’s daughters, Minnie Strauss. Minnie Strauss married Dr. Richard Weil in 1905, and their son, Richard Weil Jr., served as president of Macy’s New York, according to the paper.
Tourist submersible exploring Titanic wreckage disappears in Atlantic Ocean
What we know
A submersible on a pricey tourist expedition to the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean has vanished with likely only four days’ worth of oxygen. The US Coast Guard said the small submarine began its journey underwater with five passengers Sunday morning, and the Canadian research vessel that it was working with lost contact with the crew about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive.
It was later found that a top-secret team with the US Navy detected the implosion of the Titan submersible on Sunday, but did not stop search efforts due because the evidence was “not definitive” and a decision was made to “make every effort to save the lives on board.”
Who was on board?
The family of world explorer Hamish Harding confirmed on Facebook that he was among the five traveling in the missing submarine. Harding, a British businessman who previously paid for a space ride aboard the Blue Origin rocket last year, shared a photo of himself on Sunday signing a banner for OceanGate’s latest voyage to the shipwreck.
Also onboard were Pakistani energy and tech mogul Shanzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, 19; famed French diver and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush.
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- Coast Guard knew Titan sub imploded Sunday, but continued search anyway — here’s why
What’s next?
“We’re doing everything we can do to locate the submersible and rescue those on board,” Rear Adm. John Mauger told reporters. “In terms of the hours, we understood that was 96 hours of emergency capability from the operator.
Coast Guard officials said they are currently focusing all their efforts on locating the sub first before deploying any vessel capable of reaching as far below as 12,500 feet where the Titanic wreck is located.
Mauger, first district commander and leader of the search-and-rescue mission, said the US was coordinating with Canada on the operation.
The debris recovered from the US Coast Guard’s Titan submersible search site early Thursday included “a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible.”
After search efforts to recover the stranded passengers proved futile, and bits of debris from the submersible were found, it was decided that the sub imploded, which correlated with an anomaly picked up by the US Navy in the same area.
The Coast Guard later reported that all 5 passengers were confirmed dead, and rescue efforts were halted.
His son, Dr. Richard Weil III, is Wendy Rush’s father, Joan Adler, the executive director of the Straus Historical Society, told the paper.
Isador’s body was found at sea weeks after the Titanic sank, but his wife’s body was never recovered.
Wendy and Stockton Rush married in 1986, according to a New York Times wedding announcement from then.
Her LinkedIn page lists her as the communications director for OceanGate, and indicates she has been on three trips to the Titanic wreckage over the past three years.
She is also a longtime board member of the company’s charitable organization, according to LinkedIn.
Stockton Rush, 61, disappeared on Sunday with four others aboard OceanGate’s cramped Titan subversive vessel during its 8-hour, 12,500-foot descent to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
He navigates the 22-foot-long craft with a cheap video game controller.
Rescue crews have been frantically scouring a massive area of ocean for signs of the missing vessel, which has less than 12 hours of oxygen remaining Wednesday evening, according to United States Coast Guard Officials.
Search and rescue teams have reported hearing a “banging” noise in 30-minute intervals coming from the area where the subversive disappeared, leaving some experts optimistic that the crew was still alive.
