Cruise Ship Captain Posed for Selfies With Olivia Newton-John Hours After Joel Taylor Died

The captain of the cruise ship that professional storm chaser Joel Taylor was aboard at the time [...]

By Libby Birk

The captain of the cruise ship that professional storm chaser Joel Taylor was aboard at the time of his death took to Twitter to share selfies amid the news of Taylor's death.

Taylor, who died Monday of a suspected drug overdose, was a former reality TV personality on the Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers. Sources told TMZ that the FBI is investigating the circumstances of Taylor's death and how the drugs — including GHB, cocaine and ecstasy — got on board the ship and who may have supplied them.

Meanwhile, Captain Johnny Faevelen shared a number of photos to his Twitter from Tuesday evening and Wednesday with Olivia Newton-John, who was performing on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

"Who's saying halo tonight? #OliviaNewtonJohn onboard the #Harmonyoftheseas What a lovely lady!!" he wrote with the selfie.

Olivia Newton-John and DJ duo Galantis performed for the passengers on Tuesday evening.

Faevelen shared photos to his Twitter on Wednesday showing him posing with the Grease star and her husband.

"Who's driving the #Harmonyoftheseas today? #Megastar #OliviaNewtonJohn and her husband John. Great job Olivia," he wrote.

The ship was charted by a private company called Atlantis Events, which bills itself as "the leader in all-gay vacations" and "the world's largest gay and lesbian specialty vacation company," according to its site.

"The U.S. Coast Guard in San Juan, Puerto Rico was notified today in the afternoon by the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas cruise ship that they had a death on board," said Ricardo Castrodad, public affairs officer for the Coast Guard's San Juan sector.

Castrodad says the Coast Guard has yet to inspect the ship.

Taylor's death occurred on Monday, Jan. 22, while the cruise ship was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Police stated that a drug overdose is suspected to have caused his death after it was reported that Taylor had consumed GHB during a party aboard the ship. A passenger who interacted with Taylor said that the 38-year-old had eventually fallen into unconsciousness and was taken off the dance floor by two people and back to his room. Passengers also reported that drugs had been flowing freely aboard the ship at the time of Taylor's death.

News of Taylor's passing was announced Tuesday on Twitter by Taylor's friend and former cast member, Reed Timmer.

"RIP my best friend and storm chasing partner, Joel Taylor. I am shocked and absolutely devastated by the loss of my incredible, caring friend. We chased so many intense storms, and I wish we could have just one more storm chase. I'll miss you forever, Joel. We lost a legend," Timmer tweeted along with a series of photos of the pair while storm chasing.

Friends and fans of the storm chaser were shocked to learn of his passing and took to social media to remember Taylor.

The Elk City, Oklahoma native appeared on the Discovery Channel series from 2008 up until its cancellation in 2012. The series was filmed annually in the area known as Tornado Alley, where meteorologists could study the most frequent and severe storms and tornadoes in the central part of the country.

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