Coast Guard Suspends Search for Missing Carnival Dream Passenger

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for a man who went missing from a cruise ship on Thursday night.

Carnival says that the 26-year-old man apparently jumped from his cabin room aboard the Carnival Dream ship as it sailed on a 4-day itinerary to Cozumel. ABC13.com reports that the Coast Guard search covered 586 square miles, but the Coast Guard was unable to locate the victim.

Another passenger on the ship, Darrell Byer, recorded a video as authorities searched for the missing passenger. “We got a pretty sad situation out here right now, man. A man overboard. We turned the ship around, and we’re in a search pattern right now,” Byer said as authorities conducted the search. 

In a statement, Lt. Cmdr. Caren Damon of the Coast Guard said “With our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of this young man, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our search.”

It is common for cruise companies to claim that missing passengers purposefully jumped from the vessels. Cruise lines could be liable for negligence when passengers fall overboard, so their frequent claims that passengers intentionally jumped from the ships is likely a way to attempt to limit liability.