Coast Guard ends search for woman who went overboard on cruise ship
U.S. Coast Guard authorities have halted the search for a woman who reportedly went overboard on a cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico. Authorities searched more than 31 hours for the woman before pausing the search on Sunday pending additional information, the Coast Guard said Sunday.
The woman in her mid-20s was reported to have gone overboard early Saturday, Petty Officer First Class Adam Stanton said. The Carnival Miracle cruise ship was returning Sunday to the port in Long Beach, where federal authorities were waiting to investigate.
Daniel Miranda, a Northern California firefighter paramedic and one of the passengers onboard the ship, spoke with CBS Los Angeles while the ship was docked in Ensenada.
"Someone has lost their life, whether it was done by accident or by foul play I don't know — there's some high suspicion of foul play. … A lot of people are concerned because that's somebody's life, and that's a high likelihood that this person will not be found alive," he said.
Miranda said an announcement went out early Saturday that someone had gone overboard, and that areas of the ship were cordoned off and limited information was provided.
"They immediately did their best efforts to get crews out on little boats and rescue, to start a search," Miranda told CBS Los Angeles. "They had crew literally around the deck to look all the way around the ship to be able to see if somebody was out in the water. They had lights out in the water trying to flash out there, but again it's pretty dark."
The woman was not immediately identified. The ship left Los Angeles area on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.