A passenger aboard the Carnival Magic ship went missing after reportedly falling overboard during his first-ever cruise with his fiancée.
The passenger was identified as Ronnie Lee Peale Jr., 35, from Virginia.
Peale was reported missing late Monday afternoon. Surveillance footage from the ship, as detailed in a Coast Guard statement, revealed that Peale leaned over the balcony railing of his stateroom and fell into the water at around 4:10 am.
The incident occurred approximately 185 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida in the early hours of Monday, May 29, according to the US Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard has since launched an extensive search operation using both aircraft and ships to locate Peale. While officials have not officially released his name, his fiancée, Jennilyn Michelle Blosser, confirmed to a news outlet that Peale was the person who went overboard.
The man has not been found, but in anticipation of the worst outcome his girlfriend set up a GoFundMe campaign page to raise money for funeral expenses. According to a description on the campaign page initiated by Blosser on Tuesday, the couple had embarked on the cruise to celebrate her birthday. They set sail from Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday, May 25, en route to the Bahamas before returning to port. Blosser mentioned in the campaign that this was Ronnie’s first cruise, and that he was greatly enjoying the experience, making many new friends. She described him as a social butterfly who loved connecting with people.
Carnival Cruise Line stated that the Coast Guard directed the ship’s captain to return to the port in Norfolk, Virginia, where it arrived as scheduled on Tuesday.
Throughout Monday, other passengers onboard the cruise reported hearing announcements over the intercom requesting Peale’s presence and noticed security personnel searching for him. However, some passengers only learned about the incident through Blosser’s Facebook post, which confirmed that Peale had gone overboard.
