The following is the text of two press releases issued by the U.S. Coast Guard:
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) – U.S. Coast Guard boat and air crews continue to search Wednesday for the man who was reported overboard from the Carnival cruise ship Fascination Tuesday morning about 25 miles off New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Missing is Army Sgt. Ronald Kemp, 31, assigned to Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield in Fort Stewart, Ga.
Currently searching for Kemp are: the 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Resolute homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla.; the 154-foot Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber, a Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutter homeported in Miami; the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shrike homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.; and an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Clearwater, Fla.
An Air Force plane and two helicopters from Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Fla., also assisted with the search Tuesday night.
Crewmembers aboard the Fascination reported witnessing Kemp go overboard Tuesday morning and immediately reported the incident to watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville command center.
The Fascination departed the cruise terminal in Jacksonville, Fla., at approximately 5 p.m., Monday en route to Key West Fla.
The previous press release:
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) – The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a 31-year-old male, 25-miles off of Ponce Inlet, Fla., who was last seen on the cruise ship Carnival Fascination by a security guard before he leaped into the water, Tuesday.
Currently Searching are Coast Guard rescue crews aboard:
The 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Resolute home ported in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The 154-foot Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber, a Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutter homeported in Miami.
The 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shrike homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.
A 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Ponce De Leon, Fla.
HH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Clearwater, Fla.
Crewmembers aboard the Carnival Fascination reported the incident to watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville command center at 2:09 a.m., Tuesday via VHF-FM marine radio channel 16.
The Carnival Fascination departed the cruise terminal in Jacksonville, Fla., at approximately 5 p.m., Monday en route to Key West Fla.
The security guard reported that he saw the 31-year-old male jump from the 10th deck into the water, a fall that is approximately 87-feet.
The man's name is not being released at this time.
