CBS News
Coast Guard suspends search for Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger who went overboard on trip to Hawaii
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search on Thursday for a Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger who went overboard, the agency confirmed in a news release.
The Quantum of the Seas passenger, who was on a cruise from Australia to Hawaii, went overboard late Tuesday night about 500 nautical miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island, a Coast Guard spokesperson said. The cruise notified the Coast Guard of a man overboard at 11:03 p.m. Tuesday, the spokesperson said.
Crew members searched for about two hours after the guest went overboard before the cruise resumed its trip toward Hawaii, according to the officials. On Wednesday morning, a Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point C-130 Hercules aircrew launched to continue the search. The Coast Guard arrived around 9 a.m. and the aircrew completed five searches over the course of six hours.
“After reviewing all relevant information of the case and discussing it with the next of kin, the Coast Guard has made the difficult decision to suspend the active search for the passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas,” Kevin Cooper, a search and rescue mission coordinator for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, said in a news release.
A passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas posted about the incident on social media early on Wednesday.
“Three medical emergencies and now a man overboard,” passenger Joshua Reynolds wrote on Facebook. “We have slowed down and are now turning around. Hope they are found.”
CBS News has reached out to Australian officials for comment.
In December, a cruise passenger died after falling from the MSC Meraviglia, about 18 miles off the coast of Port Canaveral, Florida.
Quantum of the Seas left Brisbane on April 12 and is expected to dock in Honolulu on Friday.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
and
contributed to this report.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings