What happened to Sigmund Ropich? Royal Caribbean Cruise man overboard incident explored 

On Tuesday, August 29, 19-year-old Texas man Sigmund Ropich fell overboard during a Royal Caribbean cruise off the coast of Cuba. According to Cruise Law News, the college student was reportedly on vacation with his friends on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, a 230,000-ton vessel that was traveling to Mexico from Port Canaveral, Florida.

Savannah Ropich, the sister of the missing man, stated that Cuban officials have not regularly updated the victim's family about the search. According to Royal Caribbean, the ship's crew launched a search effort for three hours but found no signs of the 19-year-old.

As reported by the New York Post, authorities may have given up on the search for Ropich due to the time that has passed since the college student's disappearance. However, there has been no confirmation regarding the status of the search.

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The timeline of the search for Sigmund Ropich

As per Insider, Sigmund Ropich fell overboard from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship at 8 pm on Tuesday night. By approximately 8:30 pm, several reports had already circulated regarding the endangered passenger.

Cruise Law News reported that Royal Caribbean Cruise conducted a three-hour search. The rescue effort reportedly involved the use of spotlights, watchers, and several small craft that patrolled around the ship.

While there were reports that the US Coast Guard was involved in the search, the responsibilities related to the search fall under Cuban jurisdiction since Ropich fell into waters off the coast of Cuba. In a statement to The Insider, Savannah Ropich said that despite the length of the search and rescue effort, the victim's family has not given up.

“We were told by the Cuban officials that they are done searching in the ocean. They are continuing only on the coast and land. I have a strong feeling they’re going to end this search, " Savannah Ropich said.

Savannah Ropich claimed that despite the officials' reluctance to continue the search, the family still believes there is a chance they may find Sigmund Ropich.

“We are very hopeful if they open [the] search back in the ocean … We need them to open it again.”

In a separate comment, Savannah Ropich complained that the Royal Caribbean Cruise company did not conduct a rigorous search for the 19-year-old.

She said:

"I ask that they take matters like this seriously. Install man overboard systems, respond ASAP when someone is yelling 'Oscar, Oscar, Oscar' Be CLEAR when communicating WHO is searching for our boy."

The Royal Caribbean Cruise has released no further statement regarding the incident. However, a spokesperson from the cruise line said that their employees are working closely with local Cuban authorities.

According to the victim's family, at the time of the incident, Sigmund Ropich had been studying at a university in Washington State. Born and raised in Paris, Texas, he was described by his sister as a calm and friendly individual. Officials have not yet confirmed whether the search efforts have ceased.