A man rescued in the Gulf of Mexico in shark-infested waters, after falling off the Carnival Valor cruise ship, was repeatedly warned to stop vaping in non-smoking areas and was most likely drunk when he fell into the ocean.
James Michael Grimes, 28, and his sister had gone to an onboard bar to celebrate and get into the holiday mood. At some point during the night, he went to use the bathroom but never returned to the bar.
He did not return to his room for the rest of the night, and no one could find him anywhere on the ship.
According to his sister, Grimes went to the bathroom at around 11 pm on Thanksgiving Eve.
Another passenger said she was sitting next to the Grimes’ family at breakfast the day after he disappeared, and she overheard them talking about how he had not returned to his room. They also spoke about how he had repeatedly gotten into trouble with the crew for smoking in nonsmoking areas.
According to the passenger, the family did not think Grimes was in danger. They thought he had gotten drunk and was sleeping it off somewhere.
It was not until noon that day when he still had not shown up, that his sister reported him missing.
Security frantically started to search the entire ship with a picture of the passenger on their phone. They issued a notice for the missing man to register through guest services. The ship gave a final check-in request at around 2 pm.
The captain then announced they would arrive later than expected at the port in Cozumel, Mexico, and the ship turned around.
Matt Lupoli, the Carnival spokesperson, said the ship turned around and started to retrace its steps to support the search and rescue operations.
The Coast Guard received a call from the ship about a missing passenger at around 2:30 pm, and they soon launched a multi-crew search and rescue operation by air and sea.
Lt. Seth Gross, a coordinator for the US Coast Guard search and rescue team, said the search extended over 200 miles in the Gulf of Mexico, and the water temperature on Thursday night was about 70 degrees.
In their news release on Friday, the Coast guard said another search and rescue crew spotted Grimes treading water at 8:25 pm, about 20 miles South of Southwest Pass.
The search and rescue team hoisted him out of the water using a helicopter.
Miraculously, after 15 hours of being submerged in the water, Grimes was still responsive. Even though he could walk and talk, he had signs of dehydration, hypothermia, and shock. He told them his name and confirmed he had fallen overboard.
Lt. Gross said Grimes did not give them a clear indication of the exact time he fell overboard or why. According to him, that the man could stay afloat for 15 hours or more was a Thanksgiving miracle.
Authorities transferred Grimes to a nearby airport where medical personnel was waiting.
In an interview with ABC News, Grimes said that he was determined to make it out alive, and it was the experience of a lifetime.
Earlier this year, the Carnival Valor witnessed another passenger, a 32-year-old woman, jump off the ship during a five-day cruise to Mexico.
