The mom of a 28-year-old cruise ship passenger who allegedly jumped overboard has criticised the cruise line, claiming it failed to inform her that her son was lacking.
Tyler Barnett, from Louisiana, is believed to have gone overboard the Carnival Glory on Monday. He was first reported lacking a day after leaving New Orleans for a weeklong cruise to Grand Cayman within the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico, Carnival Cruise Line mentioned in an announcement.
He was on board the cruise ship together with his sister and uncle and was final seen at about 11.40pm on Sunday going to his room after visiting the ship’s on line casino.
The Coast Guard has now launched two plane to look a 200-mile space close to the place the ship sailed into the Gulf of Mexico to seek out the lacking 28-year-old.
His mom, Elisha Reid, has criticised Carnival Cruise Line, telling Enterprise Insider she discovered her son was lacking from a member of the family, not the corporate.
Whereas Mr Barnett’s mom is hopeful he’s nonetheless alive, a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson mentioned surveillance footage reviewed by the corporate appeared to point out the 28-year-old leaping from the ship at about 1.40am on Monday, Enterprise Insider reported.
“He might be seen climbing on a lifeboat and leaping from there,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Carnival Cruise Line mentioned they knowledgeable Mr Barnett’s household of the surveillance footage, whereas Ms Reid mentioned the footage reveals her son slipped from the ship, fairly than jumped.
“They hit a wave and he went down off the lifeboat,” she mentioned. “Tyler was my solely son, my firstborn. He was my every thing in life! He was the air I breathed. He was the beat of my coronary heart. I really feel as if my coronary heart not beats.”
She added that Carnival initially advised her daughter — who’s on the ship — there was no footage of what occurred to her son.
The corporate mentioned they’re serving to the members of the family of Mr Barnett, who’re nonetheless on board the ship. “Our Care Workforce will proceed to do all they will to help the household on this tough time,” a spokesperson mentioned.
The ship has been cleared by the US Coast Guard to proceed with the cruise.
Talking about her son, Ms Reid mentioned: “I’ve my moments the place I break, however I’m conserving the religion.
“What’s essential to me is to know the place he’s at and to have him dwelling, whether or not he’s alive or not, I would like his physique to be dwelling,” she mentioned.
She added that her son grew up across the water and “completely breathed” being on the river and the ocean, engaged on a tugboat.
“My solely peace is Tyler liked the water and to fish,” Ms Reid mentioned. “How ironic that he’s the place he at all times liked to be.”
At the least 9 different individuals have gone overboard on cruise ships this yr, solely two of whom survived.
