Missing Cruise Passenger Could Be Alive in Warm Waters of Mexico's Gulf Coast

Saturday, December 27, 2008

foxnews.com

An American woman who reportedly fell off a cruise ship and disappeared could be alive in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.

Authorities are searching for Jennifer Seitz, a 33-year-old passenger on a cruise liner who vanished Thursday night as the ship roamed the waters off Cancun, Mexico.

There is a good chance Seitz is still alive if she is in good physical condition and grabbed a flotation device before she fell, said Petty Officer Nick Ameen, a Coast Guard spokesman.
Water temperatures in the Gulf are relatively warm — somewhere in the mid-70s — so hypothermia would not pose a danger to her.

The Coast Guard and Mexican Navy are conducting independent searches for Seitz, but the search is made difficult by the eight-hour window during which she could have fallen overboard, the Coast Guard said.

Seitz, who may be a Houston resident, was last seen at roughly 8 p.m. EST Thursday, though her husband reportedly did not notice her missing until 3:50 a.m. the following morning.
Her husband informed the ship's captain, and the ship's security personnel conducted a search confirming that Seitz was not on board.

The Coast Guard resumed their search Saturday using a C-130 airplane. Crew on board will use binoculars and heat-detecting equipment to locate the missing passenger.

A rear ramp on the plane will be partially lowered, allowing the plane's crew a wider view of the water below in order to conduct their search.

The Mexican Navy has also dedicated a 90-foot ship and a helicopter to their search.
Mexico's Fifth Naval Regional Command said in a statement that by late Friday it had found no sign of Seitz and was dealing with "adverse conditions" and strong waves just over 17 miles east of Cancun.