The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a man who jumped off a Carnival Cruise ship bound for Florida.
TAMPA, Florida (FloridaToday.news) — The US Coast Guard said it has suspended the search for a missing man who went overboard on the Carnival Cruise off the coast of Florida.
According to Carnival Cruise Line, a passenger jumped off the Carnival Elation as it was returning to Jacksonville on Sunday. The Coast Guard identified the passenger as 30-year-old Jaylen Hill.
Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez suffered a “critical” injury in Tampa.
“The crew was notified by his fellow passenger in the afternoon that he was missing after not being seen all day,” Carnival said in a statement. “Unfortunately, after a thorough search on board and review of security camera footage, it was determined that he had jumped.”
The Coast Guard said air and sea crews were looking for Hill about 95 nautical miles east of Melbourne, Florida. In total, the crews searched over 1,347 square miles.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the Hill family,” said Petty Officer Eric Rodriguez, D7. “Our crews take our mission of saving lives very seriously. Every time we can’t bring a loved one home to their family, we all feel pain.”
Jaylen Hill (Source: US Coast Guard)
According to a public relations official, they were the crews of an 87-foot Cutter Tarpon from St. Petersburg, a Hercules aircraft from Clearwater, and an Ocean Sentry aircraft from Miami.
Meanwhile, Carnival said its care team is working to support the man’s family.
According to the report, Elation was on a four-day trip to the Bahamas before returning to Jacksonville on Monday morning.
