Missing Passenger MARINER OF SEAS

[kat1528]

A passenger on board the Mariner of the Seas is missing.

The Royal Caribbean ship was en route from Port Canaveral to Coco Cay, the cruise line's private island in the Bahamas.

Daniel DePiero, 21, of Augusta, Oh., was last seen late Sunday night.

He told his travel partners that he was heading to bed, but he never made it there.

 

Royal Caribbean is working with the FBI and Bahamian authorities to try and find him.

So far, an extensive search of the ship has turned up nothing.

[Bribrittmom]

Where did you hear about this? I've seen nothing about it anywhere else.

[nlcentralchmps03]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/16/man.overboard/index.html

http://www.wftv.com

http://www.local6.com

http://www.wesh.com

 

What terrible news!

[southla]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195706,00.html

 

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

MIAMI — The Coast Guard searched Tuesday for a 21-year old man who was reported missing from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship during a trip from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas.

Daniel Dipiero, of Augusto, Ohio, was reported missing around 11 a.m. Monday from the Mariner of the Seas. Dipiero's friends reported his disappearance Monday after realizing he had not slept in the cabin they shared, Royal Caribbean International spokesman Michael Sheehan said in a statement.

A review of ship camera footage last showed Dipiero around 2:15 a.m. Monday on the fourth deck, leaning on a rail near the front of the ship, Coast Guard Petty Officer Dana Warr said.

The Bahamian Coast Guard and Royal Caribbean officials were helping search for Dipiero. The FBI and the man's family were also notified, according to the cruise line.

"We are determined to do everything we can to assist the authorities in searching for this young man," Royal Caribbean president Adam Goldstein said.

Warr said the Coast Guard received the "man overboard" report around 7 p.m.

"I don't know why the eight-hour difference," he said

 

Sheehan said Royal Caribbean waited to alert the Coast Guard because it first wanted to make sure the missing passenger was not on board the Mariner, which can carry up to 3,100 passengers, or on the company's private Coco Cay island, where the ship docked Monday.

"It takes time to determine the person isn't on ship or on a known location," he said.

Warr said bad weather and the fast-approaching darkness made it impossible to launch an aerial search Monday evening. A C-130 airplane took off early Tuesday and followed along the cruise ship's path. He said the 120-mile stretch and the choppy seas made a boat search too difficult.

Warr said the Coast Guard would also drop data buoys with Global Positioning System capability to determine possible drift that might have moved Dipiero off the ship's course.

The cruise line is owned by Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

[xpcdoojk]

This is a tragedy.

 

It does cause my mind to work in strange ways though. For example, why don't 50 year olds ever disappear from ships?

 

jc

[perkyblue]

This is a tragedy.

 

It does cause my mind to work in strange ways though. For example, why don't 50 year olds ever disappear from ships?

 

jc

 

I think I remember hearing about a couple in their 50's who disappeared from a ship.

 

Edit: Here are some --"A 59-year old woman's husband reported her missing as the ship pulled into Nassau at 1PM. She had last been seen at 9AM. A search of the ship and ocean was done, but she was not found. It is presumed she either jumped or fell overboard." Dec. 10, 2005

 

"Two elderly passengers (aged 67 and 71) disappeared Thursday May 12th between 8:30 PM and 4 AM while the ship was going from Barbados to Aruba. Their couple's belongings were found in a pile on one of the decks, but this was consistent with what they did every night. The FBI investigated but the case was closed. The couple is presumed to have died at sea, but of unknown cause. It remains a mystery for the couple's family." May 2005

 

"A 54-year-old man was reported missing, possibly at sea, after the ship arrived home from a five day cruise to the Bahamas." Nov. 2004

 

There are lots more at http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

[Lynnees]

This is a tragedy.

 

It does cause my mind to work in strange ways though. For example, why don't 50 year olds ever disappear from ships?

 

jc

 

They do. A local dentist's wife (local to where I live that is) went missing from an RCCL ship just a few months ago.

 

While not in his 50's I did personally see a male in his 40's fished out when we were on the Serenade a year and a half ago.