The family of Florida teenager and cheerleader Anna Kepner is honoring her memory after her death aboard a Carnival cruise ship.
In an online obituary, 18-year-old Kepner was described as “incredibly determined and hardworking; reliable, responsible, and always willing to help.” Her loved ones wrote that she “filled the world with laughter, love, and light that reached everyone around her.”
“Anna was pure energy: bubbly, funny, outgoing, and completely herself,” the obituary continued. “She never had a filter, and that was part of her charm.”
Kepner, a high school senior, had been on the Carnival Horizon in the Caribbean with her father, stepmother and stepsiblings when she was found dead on Nov. 8.
Her body was discovered by a housekeeper under a bed, CBS News reported.
Kepner was found wrapped in a blanket and covered with life vests, a security source told ABC News.
According to the New York Times, which cited an unrelated custody filing by Kepner’s stepmother, the teen’s 16-year-old stepbrother “is a suspect” in her death. The filing also notes that the stepbrother is currently staying with a relative, the outlet reported.
In an earlier court filing, the stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, was “advised” that a criminal case “may be initiated against one of the minor children,” according to NBC News.
The Miami Dade Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday that Kepner’s cause and manner of death remain pending, per NBC News.
Kepner attended Titusville High School, “where she was a proud member of the Varsity Cheer Team,” her obituary noted. She later went to Astronaut High School before finding “her home at Temple Christian School, where she was joyfully looking forward to graduating with the Class of 2026.”
She had planned to join the U.S. Navy after graduation and hoped to one day serve as a K9 police officer.
