Search for Carnival cruise couple called off
Ferry Online Travel News 19/01/2009
The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for an elderly cruse couple missing from a Carnival cruise ship on Saturday.
The couple was thought to have fallen from the ship somewhere between Long Beach, California and northern Mexico. When rescuers determined that they could no longer have survived in the ocean waters, the aerial search for the 90-year-old man and his wife, 79 years old, was suspended, according to Chief Warrant Officer Scott Epperson.
He said: "Factoring in their age and weights, their survivability in 59 degrees water was about 4 to 6 hours. The last time they were seen was 84 hours ago."
The couple was reportedly last seen on board the Carnival Paradise on Tuesday. Epperson noted that the couple’s relatives agreed to ending the search.
Carnival Cruise Line, based in Miami, Florida, stated that the door to the couple’s cabin had the “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging, and that it was double-locked, from inside the cabin. When staff eventually entered the cabin, they found the door to the private balcony unlocked.
Search crews traced the cruise ship’s route from Long Beach and Santa Catalina in California, to Ensenada, Mexico. An FBI spokesperson, Laura Eimiller, said that an investigation is being undertaken by the agency.
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