Natalie Wood Case Should Be Reopened, Her Sister Says

Natalie Wood's sister wants a reinvestigation of the actress' drowning death, one of Hollywood's most legendary tragedies — though she doesn't suspect foul play.

"I just want the truth to come out, the real story," Lana Wood said on CNN.

She and Dennis Davern — the captain of the yacht on which Natalie Wood was sailing with husband Robert Wagner when she went overboard — have asked the Los Angeles County sheriff's office to re-open the case. Authorities have yet to respond.

Watch clips of Natalie Wood's movies

Lana Wood told CNN that she believes an argument between her sister and Wagner on the yacht's back deck preceded her drowning in November 1981 off the coast of California's Catalina Island.

Davern offered a detailed account in a book published in September. He also said Wagner died after a fight with Wagner, who starred in two long-running TV series, It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart.

Wood — who starred as a child in Miracle on 34th Street and went on to make Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story — married Wagner in 1957. They divorced in 1962, then remarried in 1972.

They often sailed their yacht off the coast of California and they invited Wood's then co-star, Christopher Walken, to join them sailing on Thanksgiving weekend.

Walken and Wood had been filming Brainstorm.

Check out videos of TV shows with Robert Wagner

Walken has not spoken publicly about Wood's drowning, and authorities have said he witnessed only the events leading up to an argument between the couple.

Detective Duane Rasure, the sheriff's lead investigator, has said the official theory is that Wood was awakened by the sound of the yacht's dinghy hitting the side of the boat. Police believe she went to re-tie the dinghy but slipped on the boat's swim step and fell into the water.

Wood was found wearing a long nightgown, socks, and a down jacket, according to police. Rasure told CNN he believes Wood was dragged underwater by her jacket. "She was such a little thing," he said.