Cameron Robbins may have jumped off cruise ship into shark infested water in Bahamas

The waters off Athol Island, where Cameron Robbins, 18, was last seen swimming after jumping off the Blackbeard’s Revenge sunset cruise on May 24, are “really shark-infested,” Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) Commodore Raymond King told the Daily Mail on Tuesday.

A chaotic video taken moments after the jump also shows Robbins, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ignoring onlookers’ pleas for him to grab a buoy and swimming in the opposite direction, the New York Post reports.

This has promoted social media sleuths to suggest that a silvery reflection near the boat’s hull may have actually been a shark that scared him off.

“Haunting, but you can see the exact moment the shark gets him,” one Twitter user wrote alongside a screenshot of Robbins and the shadow just centimetres apart. “Tragic and scary in every way.”

Another viewer argued that Robbins could be seen abandoning the life ring after he notices the shape nearby.

“He initially goes for the buoy but then turns around when he sees the shark, ultimately disappearing into the water, likely dragged down. Very sad,” they wrote.

The Blackbeard’s Revenge, which is designed to resemble a pirate ship, remained in the area for several hours while the crew attempted to look for Robbins.

The Coast Guard called off its own search two days later, after reportedly scouring more than 840 square kilometres.

Robbins disappeared three days after his graduation from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge.

He was staying at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas with a group of fellow seniors from other area high schools.

In the wake of the tragedy, University Laboratory School Director Kevin George described the former baseball star as a “great kid”.

“He’s an athlete … great smile, great head of hair,” he told WBRZ.

“Just one of the kids you’re so proud of when they cross the stage.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission