Much of what is publicly known about the family’s trip comes from an interview Miss Kepner’s grandparents gave to ABC news.
The family was travelling on the Carnival Horizon, a family vacation that included Miss Kepner’s father, one of her biological siblings, a brother, her stepmother, and her stepmother’s children from a previous relationship. Her grandparents were also on board.
“We were all having a great time,” said her grandmother Barbara Kepner. “I couldn’t fathom why anyone would wanna hurt my baby.”
Her grandparents said she was expected to graduate from high school in May and planned to join the US Navy.
“We were looking forward to seeing her grow,” her grandfather Jeffrey Kepner said. “The cruise itself wasn’t what made me excited. It was the fact that I was gonna get to spend another week with my youngest son and his family and all the grandkids.”
The Kepners said that the relationship between Anna Kepner and her step-siblings was a happy one, adding there was “no such thing as steps”.
“It’s all family. It’s a blended family, yes, but that’s not how our family is,” Jeffrey Kepner said. “Our dynamic is we’re all just family.”
Barbara Kepner recalled that the last day she saw her granddaughter alive, the teenager had complained about her braces bothering her.
Despite the discomfort, she dressed up and joined the family in the cruise casino, her grandmother said.
Barbara Kepner said her granddaughter told her “Meemaw, I love you guys, I’ll see you later.”
“And we never saw her again after that,” she said.
Her grandparents are now desperate for answers.
“I now know how she died,” Barbara Kepner said. “It helps a little bit, but it’s not going to bring Anna back.”
The cruise company told the BBC it is fully cooperating with the FBI’s investigation.