Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 1, 2007

Contact:  LCDR Cheri' Ben-Iesau
(504) 810-3887

COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR MISSING PASSENGER

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard began searching this morning for a 77- year-old man reportedly missing from the Carnival Cruise Ship Fantasy.

At approximately 4 a.m., the cruise ship moored at its port and noted that one of the passengers was unaccounted for.  The Hattiesburg, Miss., resident's room, which included a private balcony, was locked from the inside and all of his belongings were left in his cabin. 

A watchstander at the Coast Guard Sector New Orleans' command center was notified by the cruise line of the missing passenger and noted that he was last seen Friday evening approximately 7 p.m.

Searching is: 

• An HU-25 Guardian Falcon Jet and crew from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala. 
• A  Coast Guard Auxiliary plane from New Orleans.
• A 33-foot small boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Venice, La.
• An HH-65C rescue helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, La.

Search patterns are being conducted in the Mississippi River in New Orleans, south approximately 28-miles into the Gulf of Mexico.  

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U.S. Coast Guard - Saving lives since 1790