Page "William McMaster Murdoch" Paragraph 17

After the collision, Murdoch was put in charge of the starboard evacuation during which he launched 10 lifeboats, containing almost 75 % of the total number who survived.

He was last seen attempting to launch Collapsible Lifeboat A.

He was never seen again after Titanic disappeared into the Atlantic Ocean on the morning of 15 April 1912.

His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Within days of the disaster, several crew members and passengers spoke of an officer committing suicide in the ship's final moments ; the officer is variously reported to be Moody, Wilde, or Murdoch.

Several members of the crew, including the ship's lamp trimmer, Samuel Hemming, and Second Officer Charles Lightoller said they saw Murdoch attempting to free Collapsible A from the falls on the Boat Deck just before the bridge submerged and a huge wave washed him overboard into the sea.

Surviving wireless operator Harold Bride stated in 1912 and 1954 that after the ship sank, he saw Murdoch and Moody in the water nearby Collapsible Lifeboat " B ," but that they were already dead.

Murdoch was clinging to a broken deck chair showing he died from hypothermia.

Moody appeared to have a head injury ( which prompted Bride to wonder at the time if Moody had been shot.