NEW ORLEANS — UPDATE: On Thursday, Nov. 16, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the search for the missing man had been suspended indefinitely.
The U.S. Coast Guard searches for a Houma man who went missing while aboard the cruise ship Carnival Glory.
A family member of the missing man said the man missing is Tyler Barnett, a Houma native. He went missing sometime soon after the ship set sail from the Port of New Orleans on Sunday.
Carnival Cruise officials tell WWL that ship security cameras spotted the man jumping off the ship and into the water.
"The Carnival Glory security team has confirmed that 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, Nov. 13. He can be seen climbing on a lifeboat and jumping from there," a spokesperson for Carnival told WWL.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard began searching an approximately 200-mile area and broadcasted a message to mariners in the Gulf notifying them of the missing passenger.
“After the crew of the cruise ship could not locate him aboard the vessel, the Coast Guard launched an H144 aircraft from Mobile, Alabama and a C130 aircraft from St Petersburg, FL and searched for the unaccounted missing passenger,” The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to WWL Louisiana.
Coast Guard officials said severe weather Monday night in the search area forced them to pause the active search efforts but say search efforts will resume once weather conditions improve.
Carnival issued the following statement on Tuesday three hours after the Coast Guard resumed its search:
"Carnival Glory's security team began an immediate search of the ship after a guest was reported missing Monday morning by a family member. The shipboard team also reviewed camera footage and notified the U.S. Coast Guard. Our Care Team is supporting the missing guest's family on board. The U.S. Coast Guard is in charge of search and rescue operations and cleared Carnival Glory to proceed to Montego Bay, Jamaica as scheduled, where it will arrive on Wednesday. Carnival Glory departed New Orleans on Sunday for a week-long sailing and is also scheduled to call on Grand Cayman and Cozumel."
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