Passenger Missing From Royal Caribbean’s Liberty Of The Seas: Did He Jump Or Did He Fall Overboard?

The Miami Herald reported that a passenger was declared missing from Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. There has been no ruling on whether the passenger jumped or fell overboard. The passenger was reported missing by another passenger around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday. The U. S. Coast Guard was busy searching for the passenger Sunday night and much of Monday. The missing passenger and who he was traveling with have not been identified.

Those aiding in the search included not only the Coast Guards crews from Marathon and Miami, but also a helicopter crew along with two Coast Guard boats that were already in the area. The cruise ship and the Coast Guard searched through Sunday night. On Monday morning, the Coast Guard advised the cruise line that they would take over the search and advised the ship that it could continue on its way. The Liberty of the Seas arrived at it destination at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale around 7 a.m. Monday.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, the Coast Guard tweeted that it had completed 11 search patterns and covered 423 square miles without a sign of the missing passenger.

The 43-year-old passenger was thought to have fallen overboard when the ship was off the coast of Marathon, about 20 miles from the Florida Keys. It is unclear how the passenger fell overboard while the Liberty of the Seas was traveling from Cozumel, Mexico. However, the cruise line said in a statement that there is indication that the passenger jumped.

The Sun-Sentinel, a newspaper in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, reported that footage from the ship’s close-circuit camera shows the passenger climbing over the railing and going overboard from deck 12.

Mike Wyatt, another passenger on the ship, recorded a video of the crew searching for the missing passenger. He posted it on his Twitter page at 11:53 p.m., but he said the crew was looking for a person who “jumped directly below his balcony.”

Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss said, “We’re not ruling out anything. We are still hoping for a positive outcome.”

In the meantime, Royal Caribbean said its Care Team are providing support to the passenger’s family.

The cruise line said in a statement about the missing passenger, “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Cruise Law News reported that Royal Caribbean has not installed an automatic man overboard system on the Liberty of the Seas or any other of its cruise ships. Just this year alone, passengers have gone overboard from seven cruise ships. Does this make you afraid to go on a cruise?

[Image via Getty Images]