Coast Guard calls off search for father of 2 who mysteriously disappeared from Carnival cruise ship, sister says: 'No one just vanishes into thin air'



A Florida man disappeared during a recent vacation on a Carnival cruise ship. The family is searching for answers after the father of two mysteriously vanished during a cruise trip.

Kevin McGrath was on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship to celebrate his father's 60th birthday. However, he vanished without a trace during the final hours of the three-day cruise to the Bahamas.

The family grew suspicious when McGrath failed to show up for breakfast around 7:30 a.m. on Monday. The family notified the cruise crew, but matters were complicated since the Port St. Lucie native was reported missing at the same time as everyone was disembarking the ship at the PortMiami seaport.

McGrath, 26, was reportedly last seen by his brother at about 2 a.m., and his key card was last used to enter his room around 3:30 a.m.

Cellphone footage last shows him dancing on Saturday night.

Authorities conducted an "extensive search" of the cruise ship after it docked in Miami on Monday.

U.S. Coast Guard crews searched for more than 80 hours and covered 3,300 square nautical miles off the coast of Florida but could not locate the missing man. Miami-Dade police and Fire Rescue and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also participated in the search and rescue mission.

The Coast Guard called off their search on Thursday.

Authorities say the ship's overboard detection system never indicated that McGrath fell off the ship, and there is no evidence that the man went overboard during the cruise.

Carnival confirmed to WPLG that McGrath "was not detected by surveillance systems, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol during the debarkation process."

McGrath's father told WPEC, "His SeaPass card was not scanned, because when you exit the ship, you have to scan your SeaPass card, and we had his documents, like his birth certificate and driver’s license, so there’s no way he could come off the ship. I was told from Carnival that they had sensors all around the ship, so if someone did go overboard, they would’ve been alerted, and nothing was alerted."

— (@)

His sister, Danielle McGrath, told USA Today, "Everyone has different relationships with the person but me, how I know my brother, how I last spoke to him, his energy, his spirit. This is definitely not like him."

"This is not like him and he would never disappear like this," she added. "He is also a father of two kids. He would not disappear."

"We have no answers. My family and I have no answers," she told ABC News. "No one just vanishes into thin air. Where's my brother?"

The sister told WTVJ, "My brother didn’t just vanish. Someone knows something. Someone’s seen something. I just want my brother home. My family wants my brother home. Just please, we need him home."

"There’s so many scenarios that run through my head," she said. "Did he fall somewhere, and he’s screaming for help, and no one hears him? Did he fall down an elevator shaft? I just don't know. It's just anything."

McGrath's father hopes that his son's "training and survival skills" from being an Army veteran will help him get to safety.

The Miami-Dade Police Department has an ongoing investigation into the missing cruise passenger.

Police are urging anyone with information about the cruise passenger who disappeared to contact Detective M. Ritch Jr. at 305-715-3300 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Cruise passenger disappears aboard Carnival ship l GMA www.youtube.com

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Video: Coast Guard rescue of cruise passenger who fell overboard for up to 15 hours hailed as a 'Thanksgiving miracle'



A man fell overboard on a recent Carnival cruise and managed to survive in the open waters for up to 15 hours. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the cruise passenger in what is being hailed as a "Thanksgiving miracle."

An unidentified 28-year-old man was a passenger on a cruise on the Carnival Valor ship on a journey from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Cozumel, Mexico.

Carnival Cruise Line said the man was at a bar on the cruise ship until around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, when he left to use the bathroom. He never returned. His sister assumed he went back to his room. She reported him missing the next day.

The cruise ship was thoroughly searched for the man, but he was nowhere to be found. The Carnival Valor crew notified the Coast Guard of the missing man at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, a 45-foot response boat, and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane to attempt to locate the man. The search extended more than 200 miles in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Coast Guard received a tip from a large carrier ship that a person was in the water roughly 20 miles south of the Southwest Pass in Louisiana.

At 8:25 p.m. on Thursday, the Jayhawk aircrew spotted the man in the water. Video shows the man waving his arms to draw their attention. The Coast Guard crew were able to able to rescue the man – who was responsive.

Lt. Seth Gross – a Sector New Orleans search and rescue mission coordinator – said that the man was "showing signs of hypothermia, shock, dehydration" but could walk and communicate.

Gross told CNN, "He was able to identify his name, confirmed that he was the individual that fell overboard."

The helicopter transferred him to emergency medical services at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The man was last reported in stable condition.

“We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome," said Gross. "It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety. If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel CRINIS, this case could have had a much more difficult ending.”

Gross said that the man "gave no really no clear indication of why he fell overboard or what time specifically."

"We have not been able to confirm when he entered the water, so we're under the assumption [that] any point from Wednesday on, he could have entered the waterway," Gross explained. "He realistically could have been in the water for 15+ hours before we were able to successfully rescue him."

Gross noted that 15 hours in open waters would be the "absolute longest" that he's ever heard about in his 17-year career, and was a "Thanksgiving miracle" that the overboard cruise passenger survived.

"The fact that he was able to keep himself afloat and above the surface of the water for such an extended period of time, it's just something you can't take for granted and certainly something that'll stick with me forever," Gross said

"I think it kind of blows the norm, the normalcy, out of the water here, and really just shows the will to live is something that you need to account for in every search-and-rescue case," Gross stated.

Coast Guard footage shows rescue of overboard Carnival cruise ship passenger www.youtube.com

Watch: Huge brawl erupts on Carnival cruise ship, Coast Guard involved with 60-person brouhaha sparked by alleged threesome



A massive brawl erupted on a Carnival cruise ship this week. The huge brouhaha was so intense that it continued on several different floors of the Carnival Magic cruise ship.

Video shows dozens of cruise passengers engaging in a brawl during the last hours of a Caribbean cruise. Around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, an argument exploded on the dance floor.

Citing travel agent Theresa James, who was aboard the cruise, Fox News reported, "An alleged threesome between passengers had upset their significant others when they learned of the rendezvous."

Authorities estimated that as many as 60 people were involved in the all-out brawl. The ship's security attempted to stop the fighting, but the guards were overwhelmed by the hostile crowd. The fight started on the dance floor on the fifth floor, spread to the casino on the same floor, and eventually fizzled out on the first floor of the vessel. The melee lasted for about an hour.

An onlooker said some passengers were injured by being cut by glass.

\u201clast nights festivities on my carnival cruise \ud83e\udd73\ud83d\udef3\u201d
— naim (@naim) 1656423512

The fisticuffs broke out in international waters.

The Carnival cruise ship called the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance. The Coast Guard escorted the cruise liner back to New York City, according to the New York Post. New York police were waiting at the dock when the Carnival Magic arrived in port.

WNBC reported, "No injuries were reported and no weapons were involved, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Neither the Coast Guard nor the NYPD boarded the vessel, officials said. Passengers disembarked without further incident upon their NYC arrival Tuesday."

Cruise Law News reported, "The Coast Guard notified the New York Police Department which also clearly does not have jurisdiction to investigate crimes on Panamanian-flagged ships which are outside of New York waters."

"Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation in a nightclub," Carnival said in a statement. "Thankfully no serious injuries were reported and our onboard security team intervened. The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and shoreside law enforcement authorities were notified and met the ship to interview suspects and witnesses and conduct an investigation."

The eight-day cruise left New York City on June 20 and stopped at ports in the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and a private island in the Bahamas before returning to the Big Apple.

Carnival Cruise brawl prompts Coast Guard response | Morning in America www.youtube.com

27 vaccinated people — including 26 crew members, 1 passenger — test positive for COVID on cruise ship



At least 26 fully vaccinated Carnival cruise crew members and one vaccinated passenger have tested positive for COVID-19, the Associated Press reports, just ahead of the ship's stop in Belize City.

The Carnival Vista, which is carrying more than 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, was headed back to Galveston, Texas, last Friday after having stopped in Mexico.

What are the details?

The outlet reported that a statement from the Belize Tourism Board noted that all 27 people with confirmed cases had mild or no symptoms and were in isolation.

The statement also noted that "99.98% of the ship's crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers."

On Friday, Carnival said that it was managing a "small number of positive COVID cases," the Washington Post reported.

"Carnival is managing a small number of positive COVID cases on Carnival Vista sailing out of Galveston," a statement from the company said. "This despite all of our crew and almost all of our guests being vaccinated. We have managed the situation utilizing stringent health protocols which included placing those who tested positive in isolation and close contacts in quarantine."

Carnival added that the cruise line now requires guests to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding regardless of their vaccination status.

According to CNBC, Carnival is requiring all passengers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with exceptions made for children and people with medical exemptions.

A spokesperson for the popular cruise line told Axios that the company "has a process in place to randomly test a large percentage of the crew multiple days per week," even those who have been fully vaccinated.

"The health, safety and well-being of our guests, crew and the destinations we visit is our priority. All activities on the ship are taking place and our guests have been terrific at adapting to our new protocols," the spokesperson added.