Cruise visitor lost at sea

(CNS) Update Wednesday 2:30pm: Despite a day-long sea search Tuesday, the local Cayman authorities have been unable to find a missing cruise ship passenger who is believed to have gone overboard while the ship was at sea. Police said that the search continued Wednesday but the RCIPS Marine Unit said there is still no sign of the man, who is believed to have fallen into the ocean at around 6am yesterday about 13 miles off the coast of Grand Cayman. The 65-year-old man is a Canadian national who was on the cruise with his wife. His disappearance was reported to the local police at 9:42am New Year's Eve, when authorities began searching. The George Town CID also interviewed staff and witnesses on board the Independence of the Seas and the matter is still under investigation.

The Port Authority broadcasted an appeal to all marine traffic to be on the lookout for the missing passenger, and this appeal is being updated as the search continues.

Police had responded to the report of the man falling from the vessel after the Royal Caribbean cruise ship had docked in the George Town Harbour. The man's wife reported that he was missing to ship officials earlier that morning. The couple had retired to bed at about 1:00am Tuesday but when the wife awoke around 7:15am, she did not see her husband. She searched for him and when she did not find him made the report at about 7:25am. At that time the ship was headed into George Town Port, the police said.

A search of the entire ship was organized, officials stated, and the CCTV viewed but there was no sign of the missing man. As a result, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Marine Unit was dispatched to the area and conducted a search until low light but without success. Officers from George Town CID are continuing the investigation.

According to other media reports, on Saturday a man had jumped from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship near Puerto Rico. The search for that passenger was unsuccessful.