CRUISE SHIP - MISSING PERSONS, News, etc...

[Nut44x4]

Cruise passenger missing after falling overboard off Bahamas

3:03 PM EDT, April 18, 2009
MIAMI - The Coast Guard is searching for a 39-year-old man who went overboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Bahamas.

The incident happened early Saturday morning, about 60 miles north of Nassau.

The man was not immediately identified, but fellow passengers saw him go overboard.

The ship was headed to Nassau, its first port of call on a three-day voyage. Several cruise ships in the area were assisting Coast Guard crews in the search.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-bk-cruise-passenger-norwegian-overboard-041809,0,3530832.story

[Nut44x4]

Cruise passenger missing off Bahamas after falling overboard; Coast Guard suspends search

MIAMI (AP) — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 39-year-old man who went overboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Bahamas.

The incident happened early Saturday morning, about 60 miles north of Nassau.

The man was not immediately identified, but fellow passengers saw him go overboard.

The ship was headed to Nassau, its first port of call on a three-day voyage. Several cruise ships in the area were assisting Coast Guard crews in the search.

The Coast Guard says in a release that it suspended its search around 8 p.m. Saturday after searching 590 square miles.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-missing-cruise-passenger,1,2940350.story

[MuffyBee]

Apr 19, 12:41 AM EDT

Man missing after falling overboard in Bahamas



MIAMI (AP) -- The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 39-year-old man who went overboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship off the Bahamas.

The incident happened early Saturday morning, about 60 miles north of Nassau.

The man was not immediately identified, but fellow passengers saw him go overboard.

The ship was headed to Nassau, its first port of call on a three-day voyage. Several cruise ships in the area were assisting Coast Guard crews in the search.

The Coast Guard says in a release that it suspended its search around 8 p.m. Saturday after searching 590 square miles.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MISSING_CRUISE_PASSENGER?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

[Nut44x4]

Crews search Gulf for missing teen

Updated: May 25, 2009 02:38 PM EDT
GULF OF MEXICO (WAFB) - The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Gulf waters off the east coast of Florida for a Hammond teen that went missing from a cruise ship that sailed out of New Orleans on Saturday.

Authorities believe 18-year-old Bruce O'Krepki went overboard about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida.

O'Krepki recently graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond.

Officials say he was on board the Carnival Cruise Ship Fantasy for a senior trip.

The ship was on its way to Key West when O'Krepki came up missing.

The coast guard is scouring the area by air and sea where rescue crews believe the young man was lost.

According to friends of the family members, O'Krepki's parents were chaperons on the trip.

http://www.wafb.com/global/story.asp?s=10418828

[Mere]

Nut or other Mod....Please delete the O'Krepki post I started in the News section.  Thanks, Mere

[Nut44x4]

MERE...I usually merge them, but I can't find it. Someone must have deleted it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teen Missing Off Florida After Fall From Cruise Ship
by The Associated Press

May 26, 2009 · The Coast Guard searched the Gulf of Mexico by boat and from the air for a second day Tuesday for an 18-year-old from Louisiana who fell overboard during a cruise to celebrate his high school graduation.

The Coast Guard said Bruce O'Krepki went over the rails of the Carnival Fantasy on Sunday night about 150 miles southwest of Tampa.

A Coast Guard cutter and two aircraft searched for him Tuesday, Petty Officer Rob Simpson said.

O'Krepki graduated with honors from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond, La., where he ran track and played soccer. He was with about 30 classmates and members of their families on the ship. His uncle Rick O'Krepki said the teen's parents were among the chaperones.

The ship had left New Orleans en route to Key West.

"We hope people are keeping Bruce in their thoughts and prayers," Rick O'Krepki said.

Bruce O'Krepki was one of 65 seniors who graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas on May 9 and planned to attend Louisiana State University on an academic scholarship, his uncle said.

"Just like any recent grad, he was excited about starting college," Rick O'Krepki said. "But he was also a bit sad that he wouldn't be seeing his friends from school every day anymore."

The teen's older brother is a freshman at LSU. A younger brother is a rising high school senior, and younger sister will be junior.

Bruce O'Krepki's soccer coach John Cox described the teen as someone who was connected to the community and his family.

"It's a huge burden for the community," Cox said.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104545456&ft=1&f=1003

[cookie]

I have no desire to ever go on a cruise ship....too many of these missing persons happening in my opinion...
how sad for this young man and his family...he had everything to look forward to...

[Mere]

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/46157622.html

Coast Guard ends search for missing La. teenager


By DAVID J. MITCHELL
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: May 27, 2009 - Page: 1B
 
 

HAMMOND — The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a search at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for a Hammond teenager who went overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night while on a senior trip with his parents and his fellow high school graduates, a spokesman said.

The nearly two-day search for Bruce A. O’Krepki, 18, of Hammond, covered more than 5,300 square miles of open water in the Gulf of Mexico, 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla., said Robert Simpson, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, 7th District, St. Petersburg, Fla., sector.

O’Krepki, who planned to go to LSU in the fall after graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in Hammond May 9, went overboard about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Simpson and family and friends have said.

O’Krepki fell from the 10th deck of the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship into the water, Simpson has said.

At 10 p.m. Sunday, the ship reported O’Krepki missing to search-and-rescue coordinators at the 7th Coast Guard District in Miami, Simpson said Tuesday.

“After an exhaustive search effort to find Bruce O’Krepki, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our active search efforts,” Capt. Drew Pearson, the 7th Coast Guard District’s chief of search and rescue, said in a statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”

The announcement came after Coast Guard officials and relatives of O’Krepki began to acknowledge Tuesday afternoon that with no sign of him yet, the search by five aircraft and a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter was probably near its end.

The Coast Guard uses a computer model to help determine how long a person can survive in the open water, said Lt. Commander Kristi Luttrell, supervisor of Coast Guard’s 7th District Rescue Coordination Center in Miami.

In an interview late Tuesday morning while the search was still under way, Luttrell said the model currently indicates a person can survive in the Gulf for greater than 36 hours, but puts no specific limit on how long, because of the warm water conditions.

Luttrell said that in such conditions, that model is not relied on as heavily as other factors, such as the missing person’s physical and mental condition, weather, availability of search assets and the “will to live.”

She said the Coast Guard tries to take the most conservative estimate to give people missing at sea the best chance to be found.

But the Coast Guard eventually determined it was time to end the search, Simpson said, based on the “really reasonable expectation” that O’Krepki did not survive

[Mere]

Hi...another monkey provided a link to the top deck waterpark play area.  Note that the railings are not high.  But....no one has said that he went over at this point....no one has
said how he went over.....or if someone saw the accident.  Very sad day for this family.

http://www.cruiseweb.com/CARNIVAL-FANTASY-PHOTO-GALLERY-15.HTM

[cookie]

Hi...another monkey provided a link to the top deck waterpark play area.  Note that the railings are not high.  But....no one has said that he went over at this point....no one has
said how he went over.....or if someone saw the accident.  Very sad day for this family.

http://www.cruiseweb.com/CARNIVAL-FANTASY-PHOTO-GALLERY-15.HTM

that is what I was wondering...no explanation that I have seen of what happened...
how does anyone just go over a railing ? no cruises for me...this is happening much too often without a good reason as to how or why...the cruise ships are going to have to make some changes on these rails in my mind...

[cookie]

Hi...another monkey provided a link to the top deck waterpark play area.  Note that the railings are not high.  But....no one has said that he went over at this point....no one has
said how he went over.....or if someone saw the accident.  Very sad day for this family.

http://www.cruiseweb.com/CARNIVAL-FANTASY-PHOTO-GALLERY-15.HTM

that is what I was wondering...no explanation that I have seen of what happened...
how does anyone just go over a railing ? no cruises for me...this is happening much too often without a good reason as to how or why...the cruise ships are going to have to make some changes on these rails in my mind...

those railings are much too low in my opinion...they should be at least 4 ft tall, to make it difficult to just lean over and fall over board...did friends see him fall?
on the news just now it said that he was on the cruise with friends and family as chaperones...were his parents on the cruise ship at the time?

[Mere]

Monkeys...yesterday when I posted #107 above, I did not know that there was more to the article...which I found this morning while looking for an update.  Here is the rest of the article.



http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/46157622.html?index=14&c=y

Page 2 of 3
SINGLE PAGE VIEW

An O’Krepki family spokesman thanked the Coast Guard Tuesday night and said the O’Krepkis were grieving the loss.

“I would just say the family of Bruce O’Krepki is deeply saddened by all the events that have taken place up to this time, and we are extremely thankful for the support of our friends and family in the community and a very, very special thanks goes out to the United States Coast Guard,” said Rick O’Krepki, who is Bruce O’Krepki’s uncle.

“Their efforts are deeply appreciated.”

Rick O’Krepki, 53, of Covington, said his brother, who is also named Bruce, and his wife, Geri, returned to Hammond Tuesday evening from Key West, Fla., to begin to take care of family business.

The O’Krepkis went on the seven-day cruise with their son, Bruce, and around 30 of his classmates and their relatives who organized the non-school-sponsored trip.

The Carnival Fantasy sailed Saturday from New Orleans and had planned stops in Key West and Nassau, the cruise line said in a prepared statement. Family members had previously said the trip was a six-day cruise that started Sunday.

The apparent end of the search came as the Coast Guard reported second-hand information that Bruce A. O’Krepki’s relatives told the Coast Guard the family knew of witnesses who allegedly saw the young man jump from the ship.

But Simpson said the Coast Guard has not spoken to those alleged witnesses yet and has not opened an investigation. Some may still be on the cruise, Simpson said.

Simpson and family and friends speaking to the news media had previously said they did not know the circumstances surrounding O’Krepki’s going overboard and whether there were witnesses.

A statement from Carnival Cruise Lines Monday says that “a male guest was witnessed going overboard on the Carnival Fantasy while the vessel was approximately 165 miles from Key West.”

A Carnival Cruise Lines spokesman did not answer a request Tuesday for more information about who the witness or witnesses are and what they actually saw.

Simpson did say there is no belief at this point that foul play was involved.

When asked of the report of alleged witnesses, Rick O’Krepki said he was aware of it but could not comment because he had not heard that information first-hand.

Page 3 of 3

“That is something that we just can’t substantiate and will not do so until it is absolutely verified,” he said.

[Nut44x4]

The Advocate 
May 27, 2009 Wednesday
 
Search for missing teen ends 
 
HAMMOND - The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a search at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for a Hammond teenager who went overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night while on a senior trip with his parents and his fellow high school graduates, a spokesman said.

The nearly two-day search for Bruce A. O'Krepki, 18, of Hammond, covered more than 5,300 square miles of open water in the Gulf of Mexico, 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla., said Robert Simpson, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, 7th District, St. Petersburg, Fla., sector.

O'Krepki, who planned to go to LSU in the fall after graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in Hammond May 9, went overboard about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Simpson and family and friends have said.

O'Krepki fell from the 10th deck of the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship into the water, Simpson has said.

At 10 p.m. Sunday, the ship reported O'Krepki missing to search-and-rescue coordinators at the 7th Coast Guard District in Miami, Simpson said Tuesday.

"After an exhaustive search effort to find Bruce O'Krepki, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our active search efforts," Capt. Drew Pearson, the 7th Coast Guard District's chief of search and rescue, said in a statement.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time."

The announcement came after Coast Guard officials and relatives of O'Krepki began to acknowledge Tuesday afternoon that with no sign of him yet, the search by five aircraft and a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter was probably near its end.

The Coast Guard uses a computer model to help determine how long a person can survive in the open water, said Lt. Commander Kristi Luttrell, supervisor of Coast Guard's 7th District Rescue Coordination Center in Miami.

In an interview late Tuesday morning while the search was still under way, Luttrell said the model indicates a person can survive in the Gulf for greater than 36 hours, but puts no specific limit on how long, because of the warm water conditions.

Luttrell said that in such conditions, that model is not relied on as heavily as other factors, such as the missing person's physical and mental condition, weather, availability of search assets and the "will to live."

She said the Coast Guard tries to take the most conservative estimate to give people missing at sea the best chance to be found.

But the Coast Guard eventually determined it was time to end the search, Simpson said, based on the "really reasonable expectation" that O'Krepki did not survive.

An O'Krepki family spokesman thanked the Coast Guard Tuesday night and said the O'Krepkis were grieving the loss.

"I would just say the family of Bruce O'Krepki is deeply saddened by all the events that have taken place up to this time, and we are extremely thankful for the support of our friends and family in the community and a very, very special thanks goes out to the United States Coast Guard," said Rick O'Krepki, who is Bruce O'Krepki's uncle.

"Their efforts are deeply appreciated."

Rick O'Krepki, 53, of Covington, said his brother, who is also named Bruce, and his wife, Geri, returned to Hammond Tuesday evening from Key West, Fla., to begin to take care of family business.

The O'Krepkis went on the seven-day cruise with their son, Bruce, and around 30 of his classmates and their relatives who organized the non-school-sponsored trip.

The Carnival Fantasy sailed Saturday from New Orleans and had planned stops in Key West and Nassau, the cruise line said in a prepared statement. Family members had previously said the trip was a six-day cruise that started Sunday.

The apparent end of the search came as the Coast Guard reported second-hand information that Bruce A. O'Krepki's relatives told the Coast Guard the family knew of witnesses who allegedly saw the young man jump from the ship.

But Simpson said the Coast Guard has not spoken to those alleged witnesses yet and has not opened an investigation. Some may still be on the cruise, Simpson said.

Simpson and family and friends speaking to the news media had previously said they did not know the circumstances surrounding O'Krepki's going overboard and whether there were witnesses.

A statement from Carnival Cruise Lines Monday says that "a male guest was witnessed going overboard on the Carnival Fantasy while the vessel was approximately 165 miles from Key West."

A Carnival Cruise Lines spokesman did not answer a request Tuesday for more information about who the witness or witnesses are and what they actually saw.

Simpson did say there is no belief at this point that foul play was involved.

When asked of the report of alleged witnesses, Rick O'Krepki said he was aware of it but could not comment because he had not heard that information first-hand. 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:979259993&start=15

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CRUISE_DISAPPEARANCE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Jun 8, 5:56 PM EDT

Conn. widow: foul play possible in cruise case

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
 NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The family of a Connecticut man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise in 2005 says federal authorities believed he was the victim of foul play, according to records released Monday.

But the man's widow disagreed, saying the FBI told her there is a 50 percent chance he was the victim of foul play.

George Smith of Greenwich was aboard a Royal Caribbean ship when he vanished somewhere between Greece and Turkey. His body never has been found.

The FBI has investigated Smith's disappearance, but no one has been charged. A telephone message was left for the FBI, but the agency usually does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Attorneys for Smith's family asked his widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, about a meeting with the FBI that included prosecutor Peter Jongbloed.

"Do you recall Mr. Jongbloed actually interjecting and looking right at you and saying, 'Jennifer, we also believe there was foul play,' meaning the Department of Justice and the FBI," an attorney for Smith's family asked.

Hagel Smith disagreed. After some back and forth, she eventually said an FBI agent told her he didn't rule out foul play or an accident.

"But the fact of the matter is in his mind that it was 50-50," Hagel Smith said.

She said federal authorities told her they didn't have enough information to indict anyone and they were near the end of their investigation.

George Smith's family is challenging a nearly $1.1 million settlement Hagel Smith reached with Royal Caribbean. The deal was approved by a probate court, but Smith's family appealed to Stamford Superior Court.

Records from the probate hearing were released Monday. Some of the documents were blacked out in consultation with federal authorities.

Smith's disappearance followed a night of heavy drinking. The cruise line said his wife was found passed out on a floor far from their cabin.

Hagel Smith has said that she has no recollection of what happened and that she passed an FBI lie detector test.

Hagel Smith has said her husband's family refuses to acknowledge the possibility that George Smith's intoxication from alcohol and prescription drugs may have been a factor in an accidental death. Instead, she said they have insisted Smith was a victim of foul play despite a lack of evidence.

Hagel Smith's attorney has said that there was only a "speck" of blood found in the cabin, and that what was originally believed to be blood on a towel turned out to be makeup. Blood stains were found on a canopy that covers life boats.

Smith was taking the antidepressant Zoloft and Clonazepam, which treats anxiety and panic disorders, according to Hagel Smith's attorney.

Smith's attorney says there was no evidence he took prescription drugs. They also say they did not receive witness statements or documents from Royal Caribbean.

In the appeal, Smith's parents and sister said his widow agreed to an inadequate settlement with the cruise ship line to avoid embarrassing disclosures about her conduct.

[AZSunny]

Hi...another monkey provided a link to the top deck waterpark play area.  Note that the railings are not high.  But....no one has said that he went over at this point....no one has
said how he went over.....or if someone saw the accident.  Very sad day for this family.

http://www.cruiseweb.com/CARNIVAL-FANTASY-PHOTO-GALLERY-15.HTM

I know the railings do not appear that high, but they are in fact mid chest high on most adults.  You really have to work at it to fall over any railings.  Usually happens if there is purposeful climbing, or horseplay, standing on tables and such. 

[AZSunny]

Hi...another monkey provided a link to the top deck waterpark play area.  Note that the railings are not high.  But....no one has said that he went over at this point....no one has
said how he went over.....or if someone saw the accident.  Very sad day for this family.

http://www.cruiseweb.com/CARNIVAL-FANTASY-PHOTO-GALLERY-15.HTM

that is what I was wondering...no explanation that I have seen of what happened...
how does anyone just go over a railing ? no cruises for me...this is happening much too often without a good reason as to how or why...the cruise ships are going to have to make some changes on these rails in my mind...

those railings are much too low in my opinion...they should be at least 4 ft tall, to make it difficult to just lean over and fall over board...did friends see him fall?
on the news just now it said that he was on the cruise with friends and family as chaperones...were his parents on the cruise ship at the time?

The railings are at least 4 feet tall.  if the parents were on the cruise at chaperones, and they were at sea, they would have to have been on the ship at that time. When the ships sail, all are onboard.

[Nut44x4]

Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut) 
June 8, 2009 Monday 
 
FBI sends letter to cruise passengers

Paul Haber was surprised to receive a letter from the FBI yesterday. So were Larry and Linda Bruck and other passengers who were aboard a Mediterranean cruise ship in July.

Some passengers said it was the first time in the nearly two months since George Smith IV of Greenwich disappeared off of the Brilliance of the Seas that investigators contacted them regarding Smith's disappearance, although other passengers have been interviewed by the FBI.

"I never got a letter from the FBI before," said Haber, a Pennsylvania resident. "I just thought they would have contacted me sooner."

The form letter, which was sent to all passengers and crew members aboard the cruise, features a photograph of a smiling Smith and asks that anyone with information regarding his disappearance contact the FBI.

Smith mysteriously disappeared July 5, about midway through a honeymoon cruise with his new wife, Jennifer Hagel of Cromwell. Both of their families have declined to comment.

"The records obtained indicate that you were either a passenger or crew member aboard this cruise," the letter said. "In an effort to conduct as thorough an investigation as possible, the FBI intends to identify and interview persons who may have information regarding Mr. Smith's disappearance."

The letter is dated July 29, but several passengers said that they only received it recently. Others said they have yet to receive it.

FBI spokeswoman Lisa Bull said she did not have information about when the letter was mailed, but confirmed that the letter was being sent to all passengers and crew members.

"It's a logical step to try to reach out to anyone who may have knowledge," said Bull, who would not comment further on the investigation. "It's simply being taken to leave no stone unturned."

Some passengers who received the letter said they were optimistic the FBI was getting closer to finding out what happened to Smith.

"I would love for them to find out what really happened," said Linda Bruck, who also lives in Pennsylvania.

Others said the letter appears to show that the FBI is seeking more clues in the case.

"When you read it, obviously they have been in touch with people who may have more to say on the case," Haber said. "At this point, I'm kind of guessing, that what they have, they have exhausted all of their sources of information."

In addition to passengers, three Royal Carribbean International employees have so far been interviewed by the FBI regarding Smith's disappearance, cruise officials confirmed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Smith is being honored in an Internet blog by former colleagues who worked with him in Massachusetts.

"I will always remember how fond he was of his family," Amanda Watlington wrote in her blog. "Several years ago, he went on a cruise with his parents and his sister. For many young adults, the thought of going on vacation with Ôthe family' is anathema. George looked forward to the trip, so it was no surprise to me that he was on a honeymoon cruise."

Reached this weekend, Watlington, a communications, sales and business strategy consultant, declined to comment, saying she wanted to respect the privacy of Smith's family.

Tom Douglas, 40, of Maryland, said he only discovered recently that the Smith he worked with is the same one who disappeared. Douglas said he was disturbed by media accounts of Smith and what he is said to have been doing during the hours before he disappeared. Passengers reported that Smith and his wife were seen heavily drinking, holding parties in their room and creating public disturbances.

"That's not George, it's not like George at all," Douglas said. "It's amazing how they got it wrong."

Douglas said he first met Smith in 2001. At the time, Smith worked with Watlington as part of an Internet research department. The three worked for a company that helped customers optimize their Web sites for Internet search engines.

"It was very very analytic stuff and he was very bright, very bright and extremely hard worker" Douglas said of Smith. "It's a very complex subject. He made it simple. He made it understandable."

Unlike the rowdy image that some passengers appear to paint of Smith the night he disappeared, Douglas described Smith as "reserved" and someone who was extremely bright.

"He had a formidable intellect," Douglas said. 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:986483827&start=10

[Blonde]

I am very curious about her and have been from the beginning.  I find it odd that she just settled for money, rather than demand answers.   Could you imagine Beth and Dave having done this?

My Hubby went to school with her.

[Toler]

Man rescued in Florida after falling from cruise ship


Associated Press

Posted: 06/15/2009 01:23:34 PM PDT
Updated: 06/15/2009 01:23:40 PM PDT


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man found clinging to a buoy after falling from a cruise ship in coastal Florida has been rescued.

The Coast Guard says 46-year-old Larry Miller told them he went overboard from the Carnival Inspiration early this morning while it was returning to the Port of Tampa. He was found a few hours later clinging to a buoy near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the St. Petersburg area.

He was brought to the hospital with minor injuries.

Carnival says the man told authorities he slipped after climbing on a railing to get a better view of the pilot boat. The ship was returning from a four-day cruise. The case remains under investigation.


http://**/ci_12594654?source=rss

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526631,00.html

Coast Guard Searches for Woman Reported Overboard on Cruise
Tuesday , June 16, 2009


MOBILE, Ala.  —

The Coast Guard sent out ships and aircraft to search the Gulf of Mexico for a woman who reportedly went overboard from a cruise ship early Tuesday.

A 50-year-old woman was reported overboard by the Carnival Holiday at 12:04 a.m. CDT Tuesday, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The ship was about 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, Fla., at the time.

Carnival Corp. said a passenger reported hearing a splash in the water about 11 p.m. CDT, prompting a cabin-by-cabin search aboard the Holiday. Crew members lowered lifeboats to look for the woman but found nothing.

The Coast Guard search included two cutters, two airplanes and a helicopter.

The Holiday, with a capacity of 1,452 passengers, is due back in Mobile on Saturday after a five-day trip to the Yucatan Peninsula.

The woman's disappearance marked the second time in less than a month that a passenger went overboard from a Carnival ship based in the Gulf.

A Louisiana teenager on a high school graduation cruise aboard the Carnival Fantasy out of New Orleans went over the rails on May 24 about 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla. Authorities suspended a search after two days without locating his body.