July 27, 2024
He failed to join his family for breakfast before the ship's return to port.

A passenger reported missing from a cruise ship is being sought by Miami police. The Coast Guard suspended its search on Thursday.

Kevin McGrath, 26, had been aboard the Carnival Conquest for a three-night cruise last weekend to the Bahamas. He was with family members celebrating his father’s 60th birthday, a relative told CNN.

McGrath was reportedly last seen by his brother in his cabin around 2 a.m. Monday.  He failed to join his family for breakfast before the ship’s return to the Miami port, at 8 that morning, and they notified the crew after searching for him.

Miami-Dade police told the Miami Herald that the cruise line says there’s no video or other evidence indicating he went overboard, but the Coast Guard nevertheless searched nearby waters for more than three days.

A week earlier, a 19-year-old Texas man went missing from Wonder of the Seas on a weeklong cruise from Port Canaveral, Fla., to Mexico. Sigmund Ropich is thought to have gone overboard on Aug. 29 near Cuba; he has not been found.

Other recent incidents in which U.S. cruise passengers went missing and are thought to have gone overboard:

• Aug. 11, Hilo, Hawaii. Kenneth Schwalbe, 59, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was reportedly seen on video falling from the Emerald Princess as it neared Hawaii on a cruise out of Los Angeles.

• July 23, Jacksonville, Fla. Jaylen Hill, 30, is said by cruise line officials to have jumped from the Carnival Elation as it returned from a four-day trip to the Bahamas.

• May 29, Norfolk, Va. Ronnie Peale Jr., 35, disappeared from the Carnival Magic as it returned from a five-day trip to the Bahamas. Cruise officials said he fell from a balcony.

In addition, a Louisiana teenager on a graduation trip to the Bahamas went missing May 24 after jumping or falling from a sunset excursion boat.

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