Claudia Kirschhoch

**Claudia Ann Kirschhoch** was a journalist who was last seen while on a work-related holiday in Jamaica in 2000.

## Background

Claudia was born on February 9, 1971, to parents Fred and Mary Ann Kirschhoch. She grew up in New Jersey with her sister and enjoyed playing the violin. At the time of her disappearance, Claudia had recently landed her “dream job” as a travel writer for Frommer’s Travel Guide in New York. She had also moved into a new apartment in the borough of Queens.

At the time of her disappearance, Claudia was participating in a travel junket that would allow her to visit the Sandals Beaches Resort in Havana. Initially, another writer had been set to go on the trip but when they dropped out Claudia agreed to take their place. She loved traveling and had even lived in France for some time.

Claudia and three other travel writers arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica on May 24, 2000. They were planning to fly on to Havana, Cuba but quickly learned that they would not be granted entry to Cuba because of increased tensions with the United States. The group attempted to book return flights to New York but found that none were available until June 1. The Sandals Beaches Resort offered the writers a complimentary stay which they accepted and Claudia and another woman, Tania Grossinger, were rerouted to Beaches Resort in Negril. Claudia, who was planning to stay there until a flight back to the United States became available, was initially disappointed but soon decided to make the best of her situation anyway.

While in Cuba, Claudia befriended Tania and Anthony Grant, a bartender at the resort. She was a big fan of Reggae music and Anthony reportedly offered to take her to a local club. According to Tania, Claudia had told her that she had gone skinny dipping with Anthony. The night after he had asked her to go out with him again but she had declined.

## Case

### Disappearance

Claudia was last seen while on a work trip in Negril, Jamaica on May 27, 2000. That day she had breakfast with fellow journalist, Tania, Grossinger. Tania told Claudia that she had managed to book a flight back to the United States and was leaving later that day. Claudia had not yet found a flight home, although she was looking for one, and agreed to meet up once she returned. Claudia was then last seen by a lifeguard at 1:00 p.m. She was walking along Seven Mile Beach in a direction that would have led her away from the resort. Several people claimed to have seen Claudia in the hills after this sighting occurred but these reports are all unconfirmed.

Claudia left her room in a “normal” condition with the bed made. All of her clothes, except a blue bikini and a t-shirt which she was thought to have been in when she vanished, were packed nearly in her suitcase. Her possessions, except for a radio and possibly a notebook, which she was known to take everywhere with her had all been left behind. Her passport, credit cards, cell phone, and $180 were found in the hotel safe in her room. The resort later developed the film in her camera but stated that they did not find anything out of the ordinary.

Claudia has not been seen or heard from since her disappearance.

### Investigation

Claudia’s parents became concerned when she did not call them as planned. This grew when on June 2, Frommer’s Travel Guides notified them that Claudia had not returned to work as scheduled that day. They subsequently called the Sandals Beaches Resorts who informed them that Claudia had never checked out of the resort and that the maids had noticed that her room did not seem to have been slept in for the last four days. This had been flagged to security but they had not contacted her family.

When Claudia’s disappearance was made public, the resort's public relations director, Leo Lambert held a press conference. He claimed that she had been partying with multiple men and had run away to live in the hills with a “Jamaican lover”. He eventually admitted that he had lied in this press conference and that he had been trying to protect the resort’s image, as this was what his job required. It was later discovered that Leo had called in sick during the four days after Claudia vanished.

Unfortunately, hotel staff cleaned the room Claudia had been staying in before it could be processed for evidence because they wanted to be able to rent the room out to other guests. They had taken her belongings up to the resort manager’s office but by the time her parents arrived her phone had somehow been misplaced. It has never been found to this day. Furthermore, a security camera located close to Claudia’s room ended up being recorded over. The resort recorded the license plates of all vehicles that entered and exited the property but this also failed to provide evidence in Claudia’s case because the logs for May had somehow gone missing.

A search dog was brought in to help find Claudia. The dog tracked her scent from the room she was staying in, across Seven Mile Beach, and to a gate that lead up to a residential neighborhood. The dog was also alerted to Claudia’s scent in the back seat and trunk of Anthony’s white Toyota Corolla. Additionally, sniffer dogs hit on a pair of gloves, a knife, and a pair of boots, all belonging to Anthony. DNA testing was performed on these items but the results were inconclusive. There was a small amount of blood on the knife blade however, there was not enough of it to test. They also tested a strand of hair found in the trunk of Anthony’s car and were able to confirm that it belonged to Claudia.

When law enforcement questioned Anthony he initially told them that he didn't know Claudia but eventually admitted that not only did the two know each other, they had gone on a date the day before she vanished and that he had taken her to a club and then his home. They also discovered that, like Leo, he had called in sick to work in the four days after Claudia vanished. He took a polygraph test, the results of which were either inconclusive or indicative of deception depending on the source. Anthony was later fired by the Sandal’s Beaches Resort for failing to adhere to a company policy that prohibited staff members from having intimate relationships with guests. He is not considered to be a suspect by Jamaican police.

### Media Coverage

The Jamaican media portrayed Claudia in a very negative light, suggesting that she was an “adventure seeker” and was somehow responsible for her disappearance. This frustrated her family as Claudia was a responsible person who would research locations she was planning to travel to. In Negril, it was also thought by many people that she had chosen to vanish to begin a new life in the hills with a Jamaican lover. However, Fred and Mary Ann Kirschhoch strongly disagree with this theory as Claudia was the type of person to call her family if she had a change of plans and she was not known to be experiencing any problems that might lead to her wanting to leave her life behind.

Claudia’s case was also covered by many American Journalists in 2000. Many of them reported that criminal activity could be widespread in Jamaica and recommended that anyone hoping to visit the country should take this into account when planning their stay.

### Declared dead

In May 2002, Claudia was declared legally dead. It was ruled that she was unlikely to have vanished of her own accord, however, her remains have never been found. Claudia’s parents have put up a $50,000 reward for anyone who can find their daughter.

## Characteristics

* Dark brown hair.
* Brown eyes.
* She had a tattoo of a phoenix on her right hip.

### Clothing and accessories

* A multi-colored blue bikini.
* A t-shirt.
* She was carrying a portable radio.
* She may have had her notebook with her.

## Sources

* Claudia Kirschhoch at the *Charley Project*
* *ABC News*
* *Unsolved*
* Whereabouts Still Unknown