The wife of missing OceanGate CEO on board Titan submersible is a descendant of 2 famous Titanic victims: The New York Times

• The wife of the missing OceanGate CEO is descended from two Titanic victims, per The New York Times.
• Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, a couple who died in 1912.

The wife of the missing OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush is a descendant of two famous Titanic victims, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing archival records.

Wendy Rush is a great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, a wealthy elderly couple who died when the ocean liner sank in 1912. Isidor was the co-owner of the department store Macy's.

Joan Adler, the executive director of the Straus Historical Society, told the Times that Wendy was related to one of the Straus' daughters on her father's side.

Wendy married Stockton in July 1986, per a wedding announcement in the Times.

She is the director of communications at OceanGate and an expedition-team member, according to her Linkedin page. However, she is not named on the OceanGate Expeditions team page that Insider accessed using the Wayback Machine.

Their great-grandson Paul A. Kurzman told the Today Show in 2017 that Isidor and Ida Straus were first-class passengers on the Titanic who chose to die together when the ship started sinking after hitting an iceberg.

While women and children were given priority to board the lifeboats, Kurzman said that a ship's officer made an exception for Isidor because of his age and who he was.

"And, my great-grandfather said, 'No. Until I see that every woman and child on board this ship is in a lifeboat, I will not enter into a lifeboat myself,'" he told the Today Show.

Ida chose to stay behind with her husband, Kurzman added.

Kurzman told Country Living Magazine in 2017 that Ida's maid, Ellen Bird, survived the sinking and witnessed the elderly couple's last moments.

After Ida handed Bird her coat and said she had no further need for it, the elderly couple was swept away by the ocean, Kurzman said.

"Isidor wrapped his arms around her," Kurzman told Country Living Magazine. "Then, a great wave came over the port side of the ship and swept them both into the sea. That was the last time they were seen alive."

The Straus' tragic story inspired an iconic, heartbreaking scene in James Cameron's "Titanic" of an elderly man and woman embracing each other in bed as their room begins to flood.

The Times reported in May 1912 that Isador's remains were recovered after two weeks, but his body was never found.

The Titan submersible is still missing, and the oxygen supply on the vessel is dwindling. The US Coast Guard says the oxygen on the submersible is expected to run out on Thursday afternoon ET.

As the search goes on, OceanGate, the company behind the Titan submersible and the shipwreck expeditions, is under scrutiny for its safety standards.

Wendy Rush did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of regular business hours.