On Christmas Eve 2023, the face of 44-year-old marine engineer Jel Amurao was bright with love and excitement. Speaking to his wife, Nessie, via video call from the bulk carrier RTM Zheng He, he proudly showed off the toys he had bought for their two children. His contract was not yet over, so he couldn’t be home for the holiday, but he promised to make up for his absence upon his return. It was a poignant moment of connection for a family accustomed to the sacrifices of a seaman’s life. Two days later, that connection was severed, and Jel Amurao was gone, vanishing into the vast, unforgiving sea.

Jel was the antithesis of the negative stereotypes often associated with men in his profession. He was a devoted husband and a doting father from Kulambugan, Lanao del Norte, who entered the maritime industry to give his family a better life. In their years of long-distance love, Nessie never once worried about infidelity, gambling, or drinking. Jel’s routine was simple: after his shift, he would return to his cabin and immediately call his family. He called at break time, at lunch, in the afternoon, and before bed. On his short, two-month leaves, he was all-in as a family man—driving the kids to school, helping Nessie with her small business, and taking everyone on outings.

His final voyage was aboard the RTM Zheng He, a Rio Tinto vessel on a familiar route from China to Western Australia, passing through Philippine territorial waters. On the morning of December 26, the weather was calm. Jel and his team of eight mariners were performing routine work on deck. At around 9:00 AM, he was last seen by his colleagues walking towards the ship’s Bosun’s Store. An hour later, at the crew’s customary 10:00 AM tea time, they noticed he was not with them. A quick search confirmed he was nowhere to be found on the massive vessel.

Back home, Nessie’s world imploded when a representative from Jel’s agency, Anglo-Eastern, appeared at her door with the devastating news. “I didn’t know what to do,” she recalled. “The question in my mind was, ‘how can he go missing? He’s just there on the ship.’”

Her agonizing search for answers was immediately met with a wall of silence and frustrating delays. Jel’s crewmates, citing the ongoing investigation, refused to speak with her, leaving her isolated with her fears. More critically, the official search and rescue operation was severely hampered. Because Jel disappeared on December 26, the day after Christmas, government agencies were operating with a skeleton crew. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) only dispatched a search helicopter on December 28, a full two days after he was reported missing.

By then, the window of survivability had likely closed. The helicopter scoured the waters northwest of Zamboanga City, the area where the ship was located when Jel vanished, but found nothing. A PCG vessel was also deployed to no avail. The only piece of evidence recovered was a lone safety helmet confirmed to belong to the RTM Zheng He—a haunting but inconclusive clue floating in the empty ocean.

In the absence of facts, theories and speculation filled the void. The most probable scenario is a tragic accident. The chances of surviving a fall from a colossal bulk carrier are incredibly slim. The powerful currents created by the vessel can pull a person under, straight into the ship’s massive propellers. Even if one avoids that grisly fate, the immediate shock of the cold water can lead to hypothermia, exhaustion, and eventual drowning.

However, Nessie and others online cannot shake the possibility of foul play. While she insists Jel had no enemies and was well-liked for his kind, gentle nature, the crew’s silence is deeply unsettling. The investigation is further crippled by a shocking revelation: the RTM Zheng He is not equipped with CCTV cameras, only audio recorders. Without video evidence, determining what truly happened to Jel Amurao is nearly impossible.

Today, Jel Amurao’s case remains unresolved. Nessie is left in a state of torment, unable to work or sleep, struggling to explain to her children why their father hasn’t called. While the logical part of her understands the grim statistics, her heart clings to a sliver of hope. “Wherever you are now, please show yourself,” she pleads in a message to her husband. “Your children and I miss you so much.” Her story is a heartbreaking look at the unique and unresolved grief of a family left in limbo, haunted by a mystery that was lost to the sea.