Missing submersible chief's wife is descendant of Titanic victims: Report

NEW YORK – Mr Stockton Rush, one of those aboard the missing submersible in the North Atlantic, is married to a descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the Titanic sank in 1912, the New York Times said on Wednesday (June 21).

Mr Rush, who is married to Mrs Wendy Rush, is chief executive of US-based OceanGate Expeditions, which operates the Titan submersible that went missing on Sunday as it descended with him and four others to visit the Titanic wreck off Canada’s coast.

Mrs Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of retail magnate Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, two of the wealthiest people who were on the Titanic’s maiden voyage when it sank after hitting an iceberg, the report said, citing archival records.

The tragic tale of Straus, co-owner of Macy’s department store and his wife, is recounted in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic.

Mrs Rush is a communications director with OceanGate and has previously undertaken three expeditions to the wreckage in 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to her LinkedIn page. 

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