Missing Passengers
Elderly Couple Missing After Mexican Cruise
Carnival Paradise - January 13, 2009
Unknown
Date: January 13, 2009
Cruise Bruise: Missing
Bruise Location: Mexico
Age: 90/Male & 79/Female
Home Town: California
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Carnival Paradise
Details:
When the Carnival Paradise embarked upon a 5-day Mexican Cruise on Monday, January 12, 2008 from Long Beach California, an elderly, married couple from Southern California was on the ship. When it returned around noon on Friday, the couple was missing.
The missing couple are reported to be a male, age 90 and his wife, age 79. The last time they were seen was on Tuesday January 13th.
FBI agents boarded the ship to look for evidence in the missing passengers case. No further details are available at this time.
UPDATE: January 17, 2009
At first it was said (most likely because the couple had been missing for so long before being reported missing) there would not be a search of the sea, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) though better, and decided to do a limited search, days after the couple was last seen aboard.
A C-130 Coast Guard plane searched a large swath of the Pacific Ocean from Ensenada to Long Beach, between the mainland and Catalina Island, looking for the couple. Officials also broadcast notices to ship captains asking them to be on the lookout (BOLO), according to a Coast Guard statement. The BOLO bulletin is standard for a search and rescue.
The search has been called off.
Carnival says the couple’s cabin door was double locked from the inside with a "do not disturb" sign on the handle. The couple’s personal belongings remained inside the cabin and the door leading from the cabin to the balcony was unlocked.
This case is unfolding, please check back.
