Surveillance video on a Carnival cruise ship from which a 28-year-old man went missing shows him jumping from a deck early Monday, a spokesman for the cruise line said Tuesday.
The Coast Guard is searching for Tyler Barnett, who went missing Monday morning from the Carnival Glory, which is bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica. Barnett, of Houma, Louisiana, the father of twin girls, was reported missing that afternoon, and the Coast Guard sent two aircraft to search, following the ship’s track toward Jamaica, it said.
Matt Lupoli, Carnival’s senior manager of public relations, said video appears to show the missing passenger jumping overboard.
“After multiple reviews of the shipboard surveillance video, it appears that the guest reported missing on Monday jumped from the ship’s Deck 4 at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Monday,” he said.
“He can be seen climbing on a lifeboat and jumping from there,” Lupoli said.
The Coast Guard has been informed of the video and has been able to narrow its search effort, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jose Hernandez said. The search had been over a 200-mile area.
The more specific location also means the Coast Guard has been able to launch an HC-130 plane and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, he said. The search is 30 miles southwest of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, the Coast Guard said.
The Carnival Glory left Louisiana for Montego Bay and is due to arrive Wednesday, the cruise line said.
Tyler Barnett’s sister, Destiny Barnett, and 13 other relatives were also on the cruise.
“It makes you feel crazy to be stuck on a ship where everyone else is having a good time,” Destiny Barnett said. “It was supposed to be a vacation, but for us, it’s hell.”
The cruise is also scheduled to stop at Grand Cayman Island and Cozumel, Mexico, before it returns to New Orleans on Sunday, according to its itinerary.
Destiny Barnett said her brother’s card was last used at his cabin door. His cellphone was in his room, and his bed had not been slept in.
Barnett’s grandmother Dirlean Tate Mason, who is not on the cruise, is anxiously waiting for news. She said that Tyler Barnett works on the river barges in Louisiana and that she does not think he would try to take his own life. “He loves his girls,” she said.
“I just want answers, and I’m holding out for hope,” she said.
The Coast Guard issued broadcasts notifying mariners in the Gulf of Mexico that a person may have fallen overboard, a spokesman said.
In a post on X, the Coast Guard said search efforts were paused Monday night because of dangerous weather conditions, including rough seas and strong winds. It said it would launch more search assets as soon as conditions allowed.
According to data from the cruise industry consultancy firm GP Wild, there were 212 man overboard incidents on cruise ships from 2009 to 2019. Forty-eight of those passengers were rescued.
In April, Coast Guard crews suspended a search for an Australian passenger who fell off a cruise off Hawaii after a three-day search yielded no results.
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