In 1961, an 11-year-old girl named Teri Jo De Perrault (now Terry Dummer-Dal Fassbender) was on a family vacation aboard the 60-foot boat, Blue Bell. The boat's captain, Julian Harvey, a man with a troubled past, had planned to murder his wife and collect the life insurance policy. When Dr. Arthur Dummer, the father of Teri Jo, intervened, Harvey killed him and the rest of the family, except for Teri Jo. Harvey then tried to kill Teri Jo, but she managed to escape on a small cork float. After four days adrift in the ocean, Teri Jo was rescued by a passing freighter. Harvey was later found dead, having taken his own life after being discovered by the Coast Guard. Teri Jo's ordeal was kept quiet for many years, but she eventually wrote a book about her experience, "Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean," which helped her heal and find closure.
1. In 1961, a young girl named Teri Jo DePerrault was found adrift at sea.
2. Teri Jo was 11 years old and on a family vacation in the Bahamas.
3. The family had chartered a 60-foot boat called the Blue Bell for a week-long holiday.
4. The captain of the boat was Julian Harvey, a 44-year-old military pilot with a troubled past.
5. On the evening of November 12, 1961, Teri Jo was awakened by her brother's cries for help.
6. She found her mother and brother in a pool of blood on the cabin floor.
7. Captain Harvey allegedly pushed Teri Jo back below decks and attempted to kill her.
8. Teri Jo escaped on a tiny cork float and drifted alone in the ocean.
9. She was eventually rescued by a Greek freighter passing through the Northwest Providence Channel.
10. Teri Jo was near death with a fever of 105 degrees Fahrenheit and suffering from sunburn and dehydration.
11. Captain Harvey was found floating in the Blue Bell's dinghy with the body of Teri Jo's sister, Renee.
12. Harvey claimed that a storm had sunk the ship, but he later took his own life when news of Teri Jo's rescue reached him.
13. Teri Jo recovered from her ordeal in a Miami hospital and gave her first account of the events to police officials seven days after her rescue.
14. Teri Jo's family was memorialized at the Fort Howard Memorial Park in Wisconsin.
15. In 2010, Teri Jo published a book about her experiences called "Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean".