The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Tuesday that it has ended the search for a 72-year-old man who is believed to have fallen overboard from the Ruby Princess cruise ship. The ship had just returned to San Francisco after a five-day journey to Ensenada, Mexico.
The Ruby Princess docked in San Francisco at 6:50 a.m. on Monday. Cruise line officials conducted multiple searches of the ship and reviewed security footage but found no trace of the missing passenger, who was traveling alone. Princess Cruises has stated that the case is being treated as a man overboard incident after other possibilities were ruled out.
On Monday afternoon, the Coast Guard launched aerial searches about 45 miles off the coast of Monterey, California. However, the search was called off around 5:30 p.m. the same day and will remain suspended unless new information arises, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Loumania Stewart.
Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is looking into the circumstances of the man’s disappearance.
After the incident, the Ruby Princess set off again on Monday evening for a 16-day journey to the Hawaiian Islands.
