The wife of the missing submersible pilot and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush is a descendant of two first-class passengers who died during the Titanic sinking, records show, according to a report from The New York Times.
Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, were two first-class passengers on Titanic’s maiden voyage, according to The New York Times (NYT). Straus was a co-owner of the Macy’s department store.
The Straus’ tragic death was compounded by eyewitness accounts of their final moments. Survivors said Isidor refused to take a seat on the lifeboat so that women and children could escape instead. Ida said she would not leave her husband of more than 40 years alone. The two were last seen holding each other’s arms on the ship’s deck as it plunged into the ocean. Isidor’s body was found floating nearly two weeks after the wreck while Ida’s remains were never recovered, according to The NYT records from 1912.
Rush is a descendant of one of Straus’ daughters Minnie, who went on to marry Dr. Richard Weil, according to the NYT. Their son Richard Weil Jr., welcomed his own son and Rush’s father, Dr. Richard Weil III, according to the NYT, who then had Wendy. (RELATED: CEO Of Missing Submersible Once Complained Of ‘Obscenely Safe’ Regulations)
US Coast Guard (USCG) Captain Jamie Frederick speaks to reporters about the search efforts for the Titan submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic, at Coast Guard Base in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Stockton Rush and four others have been lost at sea for days after the quintet departed on Sunday to see the wreckage but lost contact with the mother ship less than two hours after the initial dive. The submersible was equipped with 96 hours of oxygen, which technically ran out Thursday morning.
Stockton Rush once complained of the submarine industry’s “obscenely safe” regulations in 2019, arguing the regulations were preventing innovation in the industry.
Marine Technology Society member Bart Kempter said OceanGate was able to evade some regulations by deploying in international waters where U.S. laws aren’t applicable, according to Insider.