An employee of Southern Tours in Troy, 67-year-old Gail Holley, was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing money paid by families of students at Luverne High School for recent graduates to take a cruise to the Caribbean.
Students thought they were going to Jamaica, the Grand Cayman Islands and the Florida Keys. But days before the group was due to set sail, the group found out that Southern Tours was no longer in business and the tickets for their cruise, Gail Holley and their money were nowhere to be found.
Several parents say Gail Holley kept collecting their checks, amounting to more than $26,000, but she never booked the cruise.
News reporter Samuel King went to the location of Southern Tours and found the building empty and up for sale.
According to the Troy Police Department, Holley turned herself in to police after a warrant was obtained for her arrest following an investigation by Troy PD after parents say Holley made no concrete attempt to return the money.
Aly Bello-Cabreriza, a Carnival Cruise Lines spokesperson issued a statement. It reads in part: "We've checked our computer system and note that this agency made three group bookings last summer for the Carnival Freedom's May 29 voyage and all three bookings were canceled automatically by the computer system due to lack of payment.
Regrettably, there is nothing we can do in terms of protecting the reservation for this group and the voyage in question is sold out."
Holley's bond was set at $5,000. This case is still under investigation by the Troy Police Department.
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