The U.S. Coast Guard has called off a search for a 30-year-old man who went overboard on a Carnival Cruise on the way back to Jacksonville, Florida, from the Bahamas.
“Sadly, after an exhaustive onboard search and a review of security camera video, it was determined that he jumped,” Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli told Insider. “Shoreside authorities were notified, and the crew was advised to continue to Jacksonville. The Carnival Care Team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts are with them and the guest.”
Related: ‘Devastated’: Man Falls Overboard on Cruise in Bahamas, Fiancé Speaks Out
Jaylen Hill was reported missing on Sunday by relatives while traveling on a four-day sail to the Bahamas and back on the Carnival Elation.
#UPDATE @USCG air and surface crews continue to search for missing 30-year-old male, Jaylen Hill, last seen at approximately 8 a.m., Sunday, before reportedly going overboard from the cruise ship Carnival Elation, 95 miles east of Melbourne, Florida. #SAR pic.twitter.com/E0kkOH2yfx
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) July 24, 2023
The Coast Guard began a search around 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday and suspended it Tuesday afternoon.
“This is so very tragic. I was on this very cruise,” a woman named Niecey Mead said on Facebook on Tuesday. “This man was in line behind me as we were going through the screening process to board the cruise. He was with a younger girl around 7 or 8 years old and an older man. Wow, just wow!!”
Other passengers on the social media platform said that Carnival had made an announcement to all passengers that someone had gone missing on board on Sunday.
Related: The Coast Guard Is Searching for a Man Who Fell Overboard on a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
“We were on this cruise too, and it was terrible to experience this whole situation,” another passenger named Mandi Cottingham said. “We just prayed and still are.”
This isn’t the first overboard incident for a Carnival ship this year.
In May, a 35-year-old man named Ronnie Lee Peale Jr. fell overboard less than 200 miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, aboard the Carnival Magic while on a cruise to the Bahamas with his fiancé. He was pronounced dead on May 29.
