Carnival Cruise missing person: Investigation underway as ship passenger Kevin McGrath vanishes onboard 

Authorities are looking into the disappearance of Carnival Cruise passenger Kevin McGrath, who vanished from the vessel after the ship docked in Florida. McGrath, who was last seen by his brother at approximately 2 a.m. at his cabin on Monday, September 4, was on the ship bound from PortMiami to Bimini, Bahamas, for the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Authorities said that alarms were sounded after the 26-year-old, who was scheduled to meet his family for a planned breakfast before disembarking from the ship, did not arrive at the table. Family members reportedly alerted the crew, who scoured the ship in search of the missing person to no avail.

Shortly after, the 26-year-old was reported missing by a family member after the vessel returned to the United States on Monday and he was not found on the ship.

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Search continues for missing Carnival Cruise passenger Kevin McGrath

Angel Rodriguez, a detective for the Miami-Dade Police Department, told PEOPLE that Kevin McGrath, a Carnival Cruise passenger has been missing for two days after vanishing from a docked vessel in Florida.

The case was shrouded in mystery as Rodriguez revealed that a search through the ship’s cameras and security devices did not indicate that McGrath, last seen in his cabin on Monday morning, went overboard. CBS News, citing Cruise Line, reported McGrath was also "not detected by surveillance systems, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol during the debarkation process."

The cruise line also said that the U.S. The Coast Guard unsuccessfully searched the waters in the vicinity for signs of the missing person. In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line said that Miami authorities are investigating the disappearance while adding that they are assisting the family of Kevin McGrath during this challenging time.

Authorities also enlisted the public's help in the search for Kevin McGrath, described as a Black man with brown eyes and brown hair, who was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black shorts and gray sneakers.

Anyone with information on Kevin McGrath’s whereabouts was asked to contact the Miami-Dade police special missing persons unit at 305-715-3300 or Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade & the Florida Keys at 305-471-8477 (TIPS).

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Multiple passengers reported missing from Carnival cruise ship this year

The incident comes amid the US Coast Guard recently suspending the search for Jaylen Hill, a missing Carnival cruise passenger who reportedly jumped off the side of the ship as it was heading toward its final stop in Florida in July.

As previously reported, Hill, a 30-year-old passenger on the ship, was captured on surveillance footage leaping off the railing of the Carnival Elation on Sunday, July 23, off the coast of Melbourne.

Despite extensive search efforts to rescue the passenger, the search for Jaylen Hill was called off on Monday, July 24, after authorities covered more than 1,347 square miles and scoured the area for 60 hours.

At the time, in a statement, Petty Officer Eric Rodriguez extended his condolence to the family and said:

“We offer our deepest condolences to the Hill family. Our crews take our life-saving mission very seriously. Any time we can’t bring a loved one home to their family is a pain we all feel.”

In a similar incident two months before Jaylen Hill was reported missing from the vessel, a Virginia man named Ronnie Peale Jr. went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship on May 29, 2023. The US Coast Guard, who failed to recover his remains, also suspended the search for the missing person.