The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(MIAMI) – The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a cruise ship passenger who reportedly went overboard from a sixth-deck balcony early Sunday morning.
Cameron Smook, a 21-year-old student at Virginia Tech, reportedly fell overboard from the Carnival Glory approximately five miles south of Abaco Island, Bahamas.
Upon notification from the cruise ship, the Coast Guard launched an Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew that was forward deployed to the Atlantic Underwater Testing Center in the Bahamas.
The crew of the Miami-based Coast Guard cutter Bernard C. Webber and an Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew also took part in search efforts during the three-day search for Smook.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Smook family during this very difficult time. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to locate Cameron,” said Capt. Todd Coggeshall, chief of response management for the Coast Guard 7th District.
The Carnival Glory was on a seven-day cruise out of the Port of Miami.
The following crews and assets assisted in the search:
• Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter
• Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane
• Coast Guard cutter Bernard C. Webber
• Carnival Glory
• Carnival Ecstasy
• Royal Bahamian Defense Force
Search efforts covered more than 3,600 square nautical miles over a three-day period.
