A man went missing from a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. What happened next might well be a 'Thanksgiving miracle'
A man went missing from a Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. What happened next might well be a 'Thanksgiving miracle'
A man reported missing from the Carnival Valor sailing in the Gulf of Mexico was found in the water and rescued on Thursday. The Carnival Valor cruise ship is seen here in New Orleans on March 3. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File)
In the first hours after the Carnival Valor set sail from New Orleans on Thanksgiving eve, a brother and sister set off for a place apropos of a holiday mood: They headed to an onboard bar.
Predictably, the man at one point stepped away to use the restroom.
But he didn't come back.
Hours passed.
He wasn't in his stateroom.
The 28-year-old had, quite simply, vanished.
What happened next has astonished at least one seasoned mariner who, with hours of hindsight, declared the stunning outcome unlike anything he's ever witnessed -- and nothing short of "one of those Thanksgiving miracles."
A search is launched by air and sea
It was around 11 p.m. when her brother walked off, the sister recalled, Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli told CNN on Thursday in a statement.
At noon the next day -- Thanksgiving Day -- she reported him missing, the statement said. Officials haven't identified either one.
Announcements echoed through the ship for the missing passenger to check in with guest services, passenger Mike Anderson told CNN on Thursday, and people "noticed security starting to search the boat with a photo of the missing (passenger) in their phones."
At around 2 p.m., a final check-in request was issued, he said.
Passengers were told the arrival time to their port of call in Cozumel, Mexico, would be delayed, Anderson said. His wife, Whitney Gaines, said one of the ship's pools was drained, but the couple said still no official announcement went out about what had happened.
The ship, Anderson said, then turned around.
"Carnival Valor retraced its route to support the search and rescue," Lupoli explained.
Then around 2:30 p.m., the Coast Guard got a call from the ship, Coast Guard Lt. Phillip VanderWeit said in a statement.
A cruise passenger was missing.
Soon, a multi-crew search for the man -- by air and by sea -- was underway, he said.
A CRITICAL MISSION
A 200-mile zone and a critical mission.
An alert went out to all mariners in the gulf, and the Coast Guard "launched all available resources," Lt. Seth Gross, a search and rescue coordinator for the USCG told CNN on Friday morning.
That included a small boat from Venice, Florida, a helicopter based in New Orleans and airplanes from Clearwater, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama, he said.
The search extended more than 200 miles in the gulf, Gross said, adding the water temperature there Thursday night was just above 70 degrees -- and somewhat colder in the Mississippi River.
Given the time difference between when the man was last seen and when the Coast Guard was alerted, "we knew that communication with the mariners in the Gulf of Mexico was going to be critical," Gross said.
The mission intensified.
About 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, the crew of bulk carrier CRINIS was scanning the water, the Coast Guard said Friday in a news release.
Then, around 8:25 p.m., they spotted something.
'UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE BEEN A PART OF'
It was the man.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew out of New Orleans headed to the spot -- and "hoisted the man onto the helicopter," VanderWeit said.
And he was responsive, USCG Petty Officer Ryan Graves said.
"He was able to identify his name, confirmed that he was the individual that fell overboard," Gross told CNN's Boris Sanchez on Friday afternoon. "He was showing signs of hypothermia, shock, dehydration" but could walk and communicate.
He "gave no really no clear indication of why he fell overboard or what time specifically," he added.
"The fact that he was able to keep himself afloat and above the surface of the water for such an extended period of time, it's just something you can't take for granted and certainly something that'll stick with me forever," Gross said.
Rescuers haven't been able to determine exactly how long he was in the water, Gross told "CNN This Morning" -- but it could have been more than 15 hours.
If it was that long, it's "the absolute longest that I've heard about -- and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles," he said.
In his 17-year career, "this case is unlike anything I've been a part of," Gross said. "I think it kind of blows the norm, the normalcy, out of the water here, and really just shows the will to live is something that you need to account for in every search-and-rescue case."
"If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel CRINIS, this case could have had a much more difficult ending," he said in the news release. "It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety."
The rescued man was transferred to awaiting emergency medical personnel at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, Graves said.
He's being evaluated at a hospital, Gross said, and was reported in stable condition late Friday morning by the Coast Guard.
Back aboard the Carnival Valor, an announcement Thursday evening over the PA system informed guests there had been a man-overboard incident, Anderson said.
The ship, though, had been released from the search, Anderson recalled hearing, and again was sailing toward Cozumel.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Canada's egg industry appears to be quietly sidestepping widespread shortages and wildly spiking prices affecting other countries, and some say supply management is to thank.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
Big tech companies that offer online streaming services could soon be required to contribute to Canadian content as a controversial Liberal bill gets one step closer to becoming law.
Lives were 'shattered' when Kabul fell into Taliban hands, and thousands remain in limbo, unable to return to Afghanistan. CTV News' Genevieve Beauchemin recalls her visit to makeshift refugee camps set up in Pakistani parks, and the stories she heard during that time.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
Many Canadians have continued to see an increase in their rental rates in 2023. In an column on CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains how to calculate how much rent you can afford.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Federal politicians are expected to make a significant announcement on ocean protection during an international conference in Vancouver on how to take action on promises to protect the marine world made at recent global environment meetings.
Phoebe Sutherland, the owner of an animal rescue on another Ontario First Nation and two animal rescues that take in dogs from northern areas say stray dogs are a significant issue in some remote communities -- a situation that's adding to pressure on animal shelters, which are seeing demand for adoptions drop at the same time.
Lives were 'shattered' when Kabul fell into Taliban hands, and thousands remain in limbo, unable to return to Afghanistan. CTV News' Genevieve Beauchemin recalls her visit to makeshift refugee camps set up in Pakistani parks, and the stories she heard during that time.
Police in southeastern France have arrested a convicted murderer linked to Italy's most powerful organized crime group, the 'ndrangheta, who was on the run for 16 years, Interpol and Italian police said on Thursday.
China said Friday that a balloon spotted over American airspace was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.
Pope Francis opened the second and final leg of his African pilgrimage by heading to South Sudan on Friday, hoping to encourage the young country's stalled peace process and draw international attention to continued fighting and a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Friday showed damage done to what Iran describes as a military workshop targeted by Israeli drones, the latest such assault amid a shadow war between the two countries.
The reconnaissance drones fly several times a day from Ukrainian positions deep inside the thick forest that marches across the border into Belarus, a close Russian ally, scouring sky and land for signs of trouble on the other side.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing a controversial amendment to their guns bill that would have added many popular hunting rifles and shotguns to a list of prohibited firearms in Canada.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's going into next week's health-care meeting between the premiers and prime minister with an open mind — and without a red line dollar ask for the federal government.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is hosting an in-person meeting Friday with the provincial and territorial finance ministers in Toronto to discuss issues including the current economic environment and the transition to a clean economy.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
Ontario fully supports the federal government's push to make health-care funding contingent on data reporting, the province said Thursday as it announced a plan to boost access to primary care doctors.
As rates of sexual assault climb across Canada, nursing experts say there is a shortage of specially trained forensic nurses to properly care for victims.
Chinese scientists have successfully cloned three 'super cows' that can produce an unusually high amount of milk, state media reported, hailing it as a breakthrough for China's dairy industry to reduce its dependence on imported breeds.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
An archeological team from Saint Mary's University will travel to France this summer to use ground-penetrating radar and other technology to assist a United States defence agency recover and identify military personnel missing since the Second World War.
Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born pace-setting designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and his metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced on its website Friday.
An Iranian director who was arrested last summer, weeks before his latest film was released to widespread acclaim, has gone on hunger strike to protest his continued detention amid more than four months of anti-government protests.
As the deadline for registered retirement savings plan contributions approaches, one tax expert says it is possible for Canadians to have too much of their savings in a RRSP.
Canada's egg industry appears to be quietly sidestepping widespread shortages and wildly spiking prices affecting other countries, and some say supply management is to thank.
Trading in shares in troubled Adani Enterprises gyrated Friday as the flagship company of India's second-largest conglomerate tumbled 30 per cent and then rebounded after more than a week of heavy losses that have cost it tens of billions of dollars in market value.
Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app -- with mixed experiences, according to a Pew Research Center study out Thursday.
As the most romantic day of the year approaches, Canada's 100 most romantic restaurants for 2023 have been revealed for those who might consider booking a table for Valentine's Day dinner.
The world’s largest international Arctic sporting event is underway in northern Alberta, where athletes compete in unique games significant to the cultural identity of the North.
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios apologized for shoving a former girlfriend to the ground two years ago after he escaped conviction Friday on a charge of common assault.
Ford will return to Formula One as the engine provider for Red Bull Racing in a partnership announced Friday that begins with immediate technical support this season and engines in 2026.
After a string of violent attacks on public transit in Toronto and other cities, a new survey has found that nearly six in 10 public transit users in Canada say they feel less safe or somewhat less safe while commuting.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
A man reported missing from the Carnival Valor sailing in the Gulf of Mexico was found in the water and rescued on Thursday. The Carnival Valor cruise ship is seen here in New Orleans on March 3. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File)
