A passenger onboard a Carnival Cruise ship seems to have jumped into the Gulf of Mexico this week, prompting a 3,600 square nautical mile search.
Family members reported Tyler Barnett of Houma, Louisiana, missing from the Carnival Glory cruise ship just one day into a weeklong voyage through the Gulf of Mexico. Crew immediately began a search of the Carnival Glory for the missing man and alerted the Coast Guard.
Carnival found surveillance video of the passenger climbing on a lifeboat and jumping from the ship’s fourth deck at around 1:40 a.m. on Monday, according to Forbes. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the area after he couldn’t be located on the ship, according to Fox Business.
The passenger’s grandmother told NBC News his passenger card was last used at the ship’s casino and his cabin. His phone was also left in his room, but the bed wasn’t slept in.
Here’s how Fox Business describes the 3,600 square nautical mile search efforts:
After the ship’s team was unable to find the passenger aboard the cruise liner, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans launched an H144 aircraft from Mobile, Alabama, and a C130 aircraft from St. Petersburg, Florida, to conduct searches into the evening, USCG Heartland said.
“We are currently searching a large area that encompasses more than 200 miles of the ship’s voyage path due to the uncertainty of when he may have gone overboard,” the agency said.
Dangerous weather conditions including strong winds and 8-to 12-foot waves forced crews to temporarily pause search operations overnight, officials said. The search will continue when it is safe to do so.
The Coast Guard also issued an urgent marine information broadcast and message to boats in the Gulf, notifying them of the missing passenger.
Undeterred from its goal of being a cruise ship, the Carnival Glory was eventually cleared to continue its journey to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and it’s expected to arrive sometime on November 15, according to Fox Business. After that, it’ll make stops at Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. Nothing can slow her down, not even a missing person, apparently.
It’s been a rough few months for people missing on cruise ships. In September, a passenger went missing on another Carnival Cruise, but no one noticed until it returned to port. Back in July, a separate Carnival Cruise passenger went missing after jumping overboard.
Image: Crispas via Wikimedia Commons