The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for a first-time cruise passenger who fell overboard from the Carnival Magic ship off Florida’s coast Monday.
Ronnie Peale Jr. 35, was on his inaugural cruise with his wife when he apparently ended up in the ocean 180 miles east of Jacksonville around 4 a.m. Monday.
“The decision to suspend the active search efforts pending further development is never one we take lightly. We offer our most sincere condolences to Mr. Peale’s family and friends,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper said in a statement Wednesday.
The service said Coast Guard crews spent 60 hours scouring more than 5,171 square miles.
The search included air crews and the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba, along with US Navy ships and aircraft in the area.
On Wednesday, the FBI took charge of the investigation into Peale’s disappearance, with a spokesperson telling the station 13 News Now that the federal agency has jurisdiction to probe incidents on the high seas.
The US Coast Guard has suspended the search for Carnival Magic passenger Ronnie Peale Jr., left, three days after he fell overboard off the Florida coast. Jennilyn Blosser/Facebook
Peale fell into the ocean about 180 miles east of Jacksonville. 3WTKR
The Coast Guard searched over 5,171 square miles for the Peale. USCGSoutheast
The area where the Coast Guard Search off the coast of Jacksonville. USCGSoutheastPeale’s wife, Jennilyn Michelle Blosser, wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign that she and her husband had gone on the cruise to celebrate her birthday.
The ship set out from Norfolk, Virginia, on May 25 and headed toward the Bahamas, before making its way back to port.
“This was Ronnie’s first cruise and thankfully he had a great time and made plenty of friends,” Blosser wrote. “He is our social butterfly that was always on the move and loved to make friends with everyone.”
Peale had been on his first cruise with his wife Jennilyn Michelle Blosser. Jennilyn Blosser/Facebook
According to the Coast Guard, security footage shows a man lean over the railing of a balcony and fall off the ship. AP Photo/John Raoux, File
According to his wife, Peale “had a great time and made plenty of friends” on the vacation. 3WTKRPeale was reported missing Monday afternoon. The Coast Guard statement said security footage on the ship shows that the man “leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water” at 4:10 a.m.
Carnival said the Coast Guard released the ship from search efforts and told the captain to return to port in Norfolk, Virginia, where it arrived as planned Tuesday.
The cruise ship can hold nearly 4,000 guests and is about 1,000 feet long.
