By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE parents of 20-year-old yacht stewardess Paige Bell say they are desperately struggling through a grief that ‘stole their world’ as a man accused in connection with her death is set to appear in court today.

Holding tightly to each other during an emotional call with The Tribune, John and Michelle Bell recounted the moment they learned their daughter had been found dead on a Harbour Island yacht in July — a moment that, months later, has never released them.

“Just pray for us tomorrow,” Mrs Bell said as she wept for her daughter, who was found dead in the engine room of the vessel, just 11 days shy of her 21st birthday. She said whoever was responsible for her daughter’s murder ‘stole our world.’

“All she ever wanted was to turn 21,” added Mrs Bell. “She was so excited but unfortunately she was never given that privilege.”

The Bells first learned something was wrong not from Bahamian officials, but from South Africa. Paige’s boyfriend, who worked on the same yacht, alerted his parents he could not reach her. His parents then contacted the Bells with the captain’s number.

“We tried to phone him on three occasions,” Mr Bell said. “He wasn’t answering. Eventually he phoned us and broke the news that there had been an incident.”

At first, they were told it might have been suicide — something neither parent believed possible.

“I was in disbelief, it was not even a question,” Mrs Bell said.

Mr Bell added: “I said to the captain that’s not who Paige was. She would never do that. We know our daughter.”

About an hour later came the second call confirming their worst fears.

“The doctor had to be called to sedate me,” Mrs Bell said. “I was in denial. I just said, ‘No, no, no, no, not my little girl.’ I kept saying to John, ‘She’s going to phone, you’ll see.’”

Paige usually called her mother every morning before work, it was a ritual that kept them connected despite the thousands of miles between The Bahamas and South Africa.

“That morning was the first time she didn’t call,” Mrs Bell said. She later learned the crew had spent their lunch break discussing Paige’s 21st birthday plans. “The theme was gonna be Pearls and Prosecco… that was so Paige, she was elegance, and she was class.”

Months later, acceptance still comes only in waves.

“With me, it only sank in two weeks ago when I realised she was never coming back,” Mrs Bell said.

Mr Bell added: “It’s my job as a father and a husband, you have to be strong for your family. But it’s not easy, still grieving.”

The Bells could barely speak without breaking down, the weight of their loss pressing in with each memory of their youngest child...their “firecracker”... their baby girl.

Paige was Mr Bell’s only biological child and four-and-a-half years younger than her sister Chelsey Jacobs, Mrs Bell's daughter from a previous marriage.

Mr Bell tenderly recalled chats about watching their favourite English football team, Liverpool, and music nights where he insisted she jam the classics like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the way they would rap along to Eminem songs.

“She was my pride and joy," he choked through tears, "I was so proud of the young woman she had become, she was just so determined, and she was just perfect.”

Mrs Bell painted a picture of a girl who never did anything halfway and was impossible to ignore.

“She was so determined. Nothing was ever good enough for her – in her mind. She would study for hours on end and still feel her results weren’t good enough,” she said.

“Her personality was just remarkable. She would walk into a room that was dead quiet and it was like a firecracker had gone off. She just lit up every room. She moved at a thousand miles a second. And it was just her determination and positivity to get things done and to do good, and positivity.”

The Bells have endured multiple losses over the past year. Mrs Bell lost both her ex-husband and her father in May, just a day apart. Paige returned home last August to stand as maid of honour in her sister Chelsey’s wedding.

Mrs Bell said her eldest daughter is "battling terribly".

“[Chelsey] dreams of her sister every night," she said, "and, you know, as a mom, you want to protect your children. And I can't fix my daughter's heart, because I can't fix my own."

Back home, the family’s community has rallied around them.

“Our community have been incredible – and worldwide, the outpouring of love has been amazing,” Mrs Bell said.

Friends have organised a vigil today and a local Irish restaurant, asking people to wear yellow, Paige’s favourite colour rose.

“It’s a show of support and that Paige’s life mattered,” Mr Bell said.

Paige had worked tirelessly to enter yachting, completing her qualifications in South Africa before heading to the United States.

“It cost us a lot,” Mrs Bell said. “Crew housing is expensive, and she didn’t have the means. At that time, thank God, we could help. But she paid back every single cent. Every day’s work she got, she sent money home.

“She even did a calendar. She was so proud when she told us she was debt free. She had actually made a payment to us the night before she passed. And we said please it's your 21st in a couple of days. She said no, she insisted because she would do payments every month. That was her – we never expected that from her but she was just the most incredible soul. She was adamant that she was going to pay us back.”

But her path into the industry was not smooth.

Her first job in 2023 nearly led to her being trafficked, her parents said. A South African captain intervened and returned her to Fort Lauderdale, after which she regrouped and tried again.

“As tiny as she was, she was tough,” Mrs Bell said.

By last summer, Paige had secured a position on the yacht Far From It and had just been promoted to second stewardess, due to start August 1.

Although she loved her work, she struggled with homesickness.

“With the time difference, I lived in two time zones,” Mrs Bell said. “I would often help her cook for the crew… or go for a walk on the beach, and I didn’t mind for a second. But I just feel there needs to be more [mental health support] available to them.”

The Bells had planned to meet Paige in Fort Lauderdale in December.

They travelled to The Bahamas once to collect her belongings, arrange her cremation and return home. They say they have received little information since because the matter is before the courts.

They plan to follow today’s hearing from South Africa and return to The Bahamas if the case proceeds to sentencing.

“Tomorrow is just the plea,” Mr Bell said. “What has been done is the most heinous thing you can do. Hopefully we can state our case to the judge… we want to explain what this has done to our lives.”

“This has destroyed us,” he said.