In November 1961, a story of unimaginable horror and incredible survival unfolded in the Caribbean Sea. An 11-year-old girl, severely sunburnt and dehydrated, was discovered clinging to a tiny cork raft after spending more than three days alone on the open ocean. She was the sole survivor of a massacre that claimed her entire family.
A Dream Holiday Turns into a Nightmare
The Duperrault family from Green Bay, Wisconsin, had saved for years for their "once-in-a-lifetime" holiday. Optometrist Arthur Duperrault, his wife Jean, and their children Brian, 14, Terry Jo, 11, and René, 7, chartered the 60-foot yacht Bluebelle for a sailing trip through the Bahamas.
The vessel was skippered by Julian Harvey, a 44-year-old decorated World War II veteran, who was accompanied by his sixth wife, Mary Dene. The holiday began idyllically, with the family visiting islands and collecting shells. On the evening of 12 November 1961, as the Bluebelle headed back to Florida, the family shared their final meal together.
The Night of the Murders and a Desperate Escape
After dinner, Terry Jo went to her cabin below deck. She was later awakened by her brother's screams and the sound of frantic footsteps above. Venturing upstairs, she was met with a horrific sight: her mother and brother lay motionless on the deck in pools of blood.
Julian Harvey suddenly appeared, barking at her to go back below. As she obeyed, seawater began flooding the yacht. Harvey returned, holding a rifle, and after a chilling moment of eye contact, he left. Terry Jo then heard hammering—the sound of Harvey deliberately scuttling his own boat.
Realising she would die if she stayed, Terry Jo crept back on deck to find Harvey gone and the yacht sinking. He had fled in a life raft, abandoning her. Spotting a small cork float tied to the rail, she freed it, threw it overboard, and jumped into the sea just as the Bluebelle vanished beneath the waves.
82 Hours Alone on the Open Ocean
For the next 82 hours, Terry Jo drifted on the five-foot cork raft with no food or water. The tropical sun blistered her skin, saltwater stung her wounds, and sharks circled below. Ships and planes passed but failed to spot her tiny white raft in the glare.
She hallucinated, once seeing an airport runway with her parents at the end. She jumped towards them, only to wake up in the water, still clutching the raft. "Fortunately, I hadn't let go," she later recalled. "I scrambled back in."
Her rescue came when the Greek cargo ship Captain Theo spotted what looked like a cap on the water. Through binoculars, they saw it was a raft with a young girl weakly waving. Crewman Evangelos Kantzilas pulled her to safety. Terry Jo whispered her name before losing consciousness.
A Killer's Web of Lies Unravels
Meanwhile, Julian Harvey had been rescued days earlier. He claimed a sudden storm had broken the masts and caused a fire, and that he had been thrown overboard while trying to save young René. Authorities initially believed him.
However, when news broke that Terry Jo had survived, his story collapsed. Under intense questioning in Miami, Harvey checked into a motel under a false name and took his own life. His suicide note read: "I got too tired and nervous. I couldn't stand it any longer."
Once Terry Jo was able to speak, she revealed the truth: there was no storm. Harvey had murdered her family and intentionally sunk the yacht. A U.S. Coast Guard investigation uncovered Harvey's sinister past, including suspicious insurance payouts from the deaths of his second wife and mother-in-law in a car crash, and several mysteriously sunken vessels.
Investigators concluded Harvey's plan was to murder his sixth wife for a £20,000 double-indemnity life insurance payout. The Duperrault family had likely witnessed the act or gotten in the way, so he killed them all to eliminate witnesses.
A Life of Quiet Resilience
Dubbed "The Sea Waif" by the press, Terry Jo went to live with relatives in Wisconsin. For decades, she spoke little of her ordeal. It was not until 2010 that she fully shared her story, co-authoring the book Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean.
"I've always believed I was saved for a reason," she later told NBC. "If one person heals from a life tragedy after reading my story, my journey will have been worth it." Her incredible sea survival remains one of the most harrowing and inspiring tales of human endurance.
