The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a passenger who vanished as a Carnival cruise ship was returning to Miami earlier this week.
Kevin McGrath, 26, was last seen on the Carnival Conquest early Monday as it was returning to PortMiami, Miami-Dade Police said.
According to the cruise line, the man was reported missing by a family member who said he'd been last seen in his cabin around 7 a.m., around the time passengers were beginning to be let off the ship.
Despite an extensive search, McGrath wasn't found on board the ship. He also wasn't detected by surveillance systems, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, during the debarkation process, the cruise line said.
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The U.S. Coast Guard responded and searched the water in the area of the port but didn't find McGrath.
Miami-Dade Police came on board to investigate, and eventually cleared the ship to sail.
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The Coast Guard announced Thursday that they were suspending their search for McGrath.
Sister Danielle McGrath said her brother was part of a large group of family and friends who were on the cruise to celebrate their father's 60th birthday.
She said the family had gathered for breakfast but her brother, a father of two and former member of the U.S. Army, never showed up.
“He wasn’t in the room,” Danielle McGrath said. “No one could find him. No one.”
The family is still hoping someone who knows what happened to McGrath will come forward.
My brother didn’t just vanish," Danielle McGrath said. "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."
