Coast Guard calls off search for missing Carnival cruise ship passenger
The Carnival Cruise Ship 'Carnival Glory' heads out to sea in the Miami harbor entrance known as Government Cut in Miami, Florida June 2, 2018. (Photo by RHONA WISE / AFP) (Photo credit should read RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has suspended the search for missing Carnival cruise ship passenger Tyler Barnett.
Barnett, 28, was from Houma, Louisiana. He was reported missing by a family member on the ship Monday, a day after the Carnival Glory departed New Orleans for a weeklong journey, Carnival Cruise Line told FOX Business. His family had been asking for prayers in posts on social media.
"Coast Guard crews searched approximately 5,625 square miles, roughly larger than the size of Connecticut," the agency said in a press release Thursday.
"The Coast Guard launched multiple search and rescue assets as soon as we were notified of a missing passenger from the Carnival Glory," Lt. Cmdr. Sean DiGeorge, Coast Guard District Eight search and rescue mission coordinator, said. "Our crews battled severe weather conditions for multiple days and made every effort to find Mr. Barnett. Suspending an active search is never a decision we make lightly, and we offer our most sincere condolences to Mr. Barnett’s family and friends."
The cruise line said it appears Barnett jumped overboard from Carnival Glory's Deck 4 at 1:40 a.m. Monday, but his family says the married dad of two would not have done that.
"Never on purpose," Barnett’s grandmother, Dirlean Tate Mason, told the New York Post. She said he would not leave behind his wife and 3-year-old twin daughters. "No. I just don’t believe that. Not to [die by] suicide or anything."
After the ship’s team was unable to find the passenger aboard the cruise liner, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans launched an HC-144 aircraft from Mobile, Alabama, and a HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, to conduct searches, USCG Heartland said. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station New Orleans was also utilized in an attempt to find Barnett.
The Carnival Glory continued on its journey, porting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Wednesday before heading for Grand Cayman Island for a stop Thursday, according to CruiseMapper.
CARNIVAL GLORY CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER VANISHES; COAST GUARD SEARCHING GULF OF MEXICO
The ship is expected back in New Orleans Sunday morning.
Carnival Cruise Line did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the search suspension.
FOX Business' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. Read more of this story from FOX Business.