Authorities Puzzled by Conn. Man's Disappearance

GREENWICH, Conn. – George Smith IV embarked on an idyllic honeymoon cruise of the Mediterranean last month with plans to start a family and someday take over his family's business in this wealthy New York suburb. But on July 5, the 26-year-old Smith vanished as the ship sailed between Greece and Turkey.

Divers and helicopters have turned up no sign of Smith, and a four-day search was suspended Saturday — just days after he and Jennifer Hagel were married at a waterfront resort in Rhode Island with nearly 150 guests in attendance.

"It was a glorious, gorgeous day," said the Rev. James Gibney, who officiated at the couple's wedding. "They're both sweet kids."

Smith and Hagel had been drinking heavily and gambling at the ship's casino before his disappearance, an official from the Kusadasi prosecutor's office in Turkey (search) told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Hagel woke up the next morning and went to the gym, not noticing anything was amiss, the official said.

Smith was reported missing after cleaners found blood stains in the cabin and alerted the ship's captain, he said.

The official said Hagel was released after being questioned by authorities and returned to Connecticut.

The official was speaking on condition of anonymity. Civil servants in Turkey are rarely allowed to speak on the record.

Cruise officials said earlier in the week there was an indication Smith may have fallen overboard. Officials had not determined if that was the case, and were working with the FBI and international authorities to continue the investigation.

Neither family has talked to the media. Gibney said he spoke to Hagel's father last week after Smith disappeared.

"What he told me was that George was missing off the balcony of their room," Gibney said. "No one heard anything. No one saw anything. I broke down when I heard about it."

Smith, whose great grandfather of the same name was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, played football at Greenwich High School. He planned to take over his parent's liquor store, the oldest one in Greenwich, and use his Internet marketing background to bolster the business, Gibney said.

Hagel, 25, came from Cromwell, where her grandfather was the town's attorney and her father was a retired police sergeant who runs a construction business.