by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:15 AM ET, Thu February 17, 2022
The United States Coast Guard launched a full search mission for a woman who went overboard from a Carnival Cruise Line ship in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday.
According to the New York Post, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans officials said they received a call about a 32-year-old woman who reportedly jumped off the Carnival Valor cruise ship about 150 miles offshore of Southwest Pass, Louisiana.
"Carnival Valor is supporting the search for a guest who reportedly jumped overboard from her balcony on Wednesday afternoon while the ship was at sea," a Carnival spokesperson said in a statement.
"The ship's command immediately began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard," the statement continued. "Carnival's CARE team is providing support to the guest's husband who was traveling with her."
A Louisiana woman named Kim Barnette, who was reportedly on the ship at the time of the incident, recounted the ordeal to WAFB.com. Security was called to the ship's 10th deck at around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after an incident between the now missing woman and a man.
Security officials from Carnival allegedly removed the woman from a hot tub and placed her in handcuffs. At some point, the restrained woman jumped over the side of the ship, reportedly hitting lifeboats on the way to landing face down in the water.
"The feeling on board the ship right now is a little subdued," Barnette told WAFB. "Of course, most people are at dinner or in their cabin. There's not a lot of activity that you see going on board, that you see with people. Because everybody is praying for the family, because it's a pretty bad situation."
Carnival Valor departed on a five-day voyage from New Orleans to Mexico and was scheduled to return to the U.S. on Thursday.
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