The U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday that it suspended its search for a woman who fell overboard off the coast of Mexico on a cruise ship that departed from Southern California last week.
“After 31+ hours of searching, #USCG assets are standing down pending additional information,” a Coast Guard tweet read. “USCG conducted first light searches this morning off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico with negative results. USCG assets are transiting back to U.S. waters.”
A Coast Guard official said the passenger was in her 20s and vanished at about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Fox 11 reported. It is believed that the woman fell from the balcony of her fifth-floor stateroom while aboard the Carnival Miracle. The report said the Mexican Navy also assisted in the search.
Nassau, Bahamas – Jan. 13, 2013: The Carnival Miracle approaches the port of Nassau, Bahamas on the Caribbean Sea. Carnival Cruise Lines frequents the Bahamas as it’s one of the world’s most famous travel destination.
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Daniel Miranda, a California firefighter who was on the ship, told CBS Los Angeles that there is “some high suspicion of foul play.”
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for a woman who fell from the Carnival Miracle about 35 miles off the coast of Mexico.
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Carnival said in a statement that guests were informed of the incident.
FILE 2013: The Carnival Miracle docked in Juneau, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard authorities have halted the search for a woman who reportedly went overboard on the cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico. Petty Officer First Class Adam Stanton says authorities searched more than 31 hours for the woman before pausing the search on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, pending additional information. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
(AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
“Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our care team is providing support,” the statement read. The company did not immediately respond to an after-hours email from Fox News.
The CBS report said the ship was about 35 miles off the coast of Mexico at the time of the incident. Miranda credited workers on the ship for immediately searching for the woman.
“They had crew literally around the deck to look all the way around the ship to be able to see if somebody was out in the water. They had lights out in the water trying to flash out there, but again it’s pretty dark,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
