The latest missing Carnival cruise ship passenger leads to a major U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue (SAR) operation. The missing guest's family first reported the incident on Monday, Nov. 13, to alert the ship's security team.
USCG officials said that the man has been identified as 28-year-old Tyler Barnett; a resident of Houma, Louisiana. Barnett was last seen around midnight on Monday, as confirmed by Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Randisi.
At first, the Carnival Cruise Line said that they didn't have video evidence (or even eyewitness testimony) to confirm if the man jumped overboard. Now, new surveillance footage revealed what actually happened.
Missing Carnival Cruise Ship Passenger Update
A Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson announced on Tuesday, Nov. 14, that a surveillance video has been reviewed after the incident. Based on the footage, Tyler jumped off the ship's deck 4 at around 1:40 a.m.
"He can be seen climbing on a lifeboat and jumping from there," said the official.
The recent reports of the Carnival Cruise Line claiming that there's no evidence showing the man jumping off the ship were changed after security crews were informed that Tyler was wearing a different shirt when the incident happened.
As of writing, the U.S. Coast Guard is still making drastic efforts to find the missing guest.
"The Coast Guard is searching an approximately 200-mile area for an unaccounted-for 28-year-old man from the Carnival Glory cruise ship," said USCG via Yahoo News.
The Coast Guard even launched two aircraft on Monday evening. However, they temporarily stopped their operations because of dangerous weather.
They resumed their SAR operation on Tuesday morning. USCG officials allowed the Carnival Glory cruise ship to continue its journey to Montego Bay; where it is expected to arrive on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
It's the Second Missing Carnival Cruise Guest in 2 Months
Cruise Law News reported that Tyler Barnett is the second Carnival Cruise Line missing passenger in the past two months. The first one went missing during a cruise to the Caribbean.
In September, 26-year-old Kevin McGrath wasn't seen disembarking from the Carnival Conquest when the ship arrived at the Port of Miami.
Just like Barnett's and other missing guests' cases, the Carnival Cruise Line officials said that no CCTV footage indicated that anyone fell overboard.
Because of the lack of surveillance videos, McGrath's family decided to create a petition titled "Where is Kevin McGrath" to demand answers from the international cruise line company.
You can click this link to learn more about the case of McGrath.
