Missing cruise passenger seen in video jumping off deck
A Louisiana dad at the heart of a massive search after he went missing from a Carnival cruise ship has since been spotted on surveillance footage leaping overboard, according to officials.
The Coast Guard has been searching a huge 200-mile area in treacherous weather conditions for Tyler Barnett, 28, after he was reported missing Monday from the Carnival Glory heading for Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The dad of two young girls was last seen by loved ones just before midnight as he said he was heading to his room, but his bed was never slept in.
He has since been seen as he jumped from the ship’s deck at around 1:40 a.m. Monday after first climbing onto a lifeboat to get there, a Carnival spokesperson told The Post, citing unreleased surveillance footage.
Rescuers then narrowed down the search area to where the ship would have been, the Coast Guard said Tuesday, confirming that the footage “shows the man jumping off the cruise ship.”
A day after the search began, cruise officials were told the missing man may have been wearing a different shirt, which expanded their profile of the guest they were searching for in security footage.
The missing man’s sister, Destiny Barnett, told NBC News that she and 13 other relatives were also on the cruise.
“It makes you feel crazy to be stuck on a ship where everyone else is having a good time,” she said. “It was supposed to be a vacation, but for us, it’s hell.”
His grandmother, Dirlean Tate Mason — who is not on the cruise — said that Barnett works on the river barges in Houma, Louisiana, and is the father of twin girls.
The Coast Guard was utilizing an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew in their search for the missing man before suspending their search at about 9 p.m. Tuesday when conditions became too dangerous.
The cruise ship’s care team is currently supporting his family who were traveling with him and are still on board, a spokesperson told The Post.
According to the cruise line’s website, the 952-foot-long Carnival Glory ship can hold up to 2,980 passengers and 1,150 crew members.
The Coast Guard is in charge of the search and rescue operations and cleared Carnival Glory to proceed to Montego Bay, Jamaica, as scheduled.
Before docking on Wednesday, the ship is also scheduled to call on Grand Cayman and Cozumel, a Carnival spokesperson said.
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