Cruise passenger disappeared from bar. He was found in water the next day, officials say

A cruise passenger was rescued from the Gulf of Mexico after spending 15-plus hours in the water, Coast Guard officials say.

The 28-year-old was at a bar on the Carnival Valor with his sister on Wednesday, Nov. 23, when he left to use the bathroom around 11 p.m., a representative from the cruise line told ABC. He was reported missing to the cruise line around noon on Thursday. After an unsuccessful search of the ship, cruise officials alerted the Coast Guard.

Watchstanders with the New Orleans Coast Guard Sector said they received a call from the ship reporting the missing passenger at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Several rescue crews were launched to begin a search mission.

The Coast Guard also issued a broadcast to all mariners in the area alerting them to the situation, Lt. Seth Gross, a Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a Nov. 25 interview with CNN.

The ship, en route to Cozumel, Mexico, began to retrace its route to search for the passenger, ABC reported.

A bulk cargo ship observed the passenger in the water and alerted the Coast Guard, officials said. At 8:25 p.m., a Coast Guard helicopter successfully pulled the man out of the water and transported him to New Orleans Lakefront Airport where emergency services were waiting.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of all, most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the guest in the water,” a spokesperson with the cruise line told McClatchy News.

Officials think the passenger could have been stranded in the water for more than 15 hours, Gross told CNN.

“In a 17-year career, this case is unlike anything I’ve been apart of, so I think it kind of blows the normalcy out of the water here and really just shows the will to live is something you need to account for in every search and rescue case,” Gross said.

The passenger was last reported in stable condition, officials said.

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