OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush had familial ties to the famous ocean liner.
The OceanGate CEO who was piloting the Titan submersible had a real-life connection to the Titanic.
Stockton Rush, who has been presumed "dead" along with the four other passengers on the vessel, was married to the descendent of a couple who died in the very shipwreck his expedition aimed to see.
Per, the New York Times, Stockton's wife, Wendy Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who remained onboard the sinking Titanic so that others could escape to safety in their place.
The couple was the real-life inspiration behind the heart-wrenching scene in James Cameron's movie, in which an elderly couple holds onto each other in bed as water rushes into their room.
Wendy's Titanic connection was confirmed by the Times through genealogical records and by the Straus Historical Society -- an educational nonprofit. She is also a direct descendant of Minnie Weil, one of the Straus' seven children.
Per her her LinkedIn page, Wendy was also involved in OceanGate, serving as the company's communications director since the start of its Titanic expeditions in 2021.
Outside of his familial ties, Stockton himself had long desired to make viewing the famed ocean liner a reality, for both professional and scientific reasons.
When researchers found that the Titanic was slowly decaying due to metal-eating bacteria in 2019, Stockton told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that he felt a "pressing need to document the world's most famous shipwreck, combined with a huge demand of people who wanted to go see it."
"It made perfect sense," he added. "We just had to make the submersible to get there."
On Sunday, Oceangate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Nargeolet, embarked on what was supposed to be a 10-hour journey in the 21-foot submersible that would take them to the site of the Titanic.
One hour and 45 minutes into the journey, the ship lost contact, leading North American and Canadian agencies to work together on a search and rescue mission. Sadly, on Thursday, Rear Admiral Mauger, the commander of the U.S. Coast Guard leading the search, announced that an ROV -- or a remote-operated vehicle -- found "five major pieces of debris" that is consistent with the "catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber." He added that the vessel was found 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic. The nose cone was among the five major pieces of debris found.
"The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel so we'll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don't have an answer for prospects at this time," Mauger said.
Mauger said that, upon this determination, the Coast Guard immediately notified the families, and he offered his "deepest condolences."
"I can only imagine what this has been like for them," he added. "And I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time."
As for the recovery of the bodies, Mauger said that it will take some time given "this is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor."
In a statement to ET, OceanGate Expeditions said, "We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost."
"This is an extremely sad time for our dedicated employees who are exhausted and grieving deeply over this loss. The entire OceanGate family is deeply grateful for the countless men and women from multiple organizations of the international community who expedited wide-ranging resources and have worked so very hard on this mission," the statement continued. "We appreciate their commitment to finding these five explorers, and their days and nights of tireless work in support of our crew and their families. This is a very sad time for the entire explorer community, and for each of the family members of those lost at sea. We respectfully ask that the privacy of these families be respected during this most painful time."
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