Coast Guard halts search for cruise ship passenger who fell overboard

KEY WEST, Fla. -- The Coast Guard on Sunday evening suspended the search for a Texas man who reportedly fell from a cruise ship 40 miles off the Florida coast.

Coast Guard officials said they halted their search for David Mossman, 46, following an "exhaustive" effort that covered 2,583 square nautical miles with helicopters, ships and airplanes.

Mossman fell approximately 100 feet to the water from Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas about 11 p.m. Friday, 40 miles south of Key Largo's Carysfort Reef Light, the crew told the Coast Guard early Saturday. A Coast Guard Cutter Gannet, an Air Station Miami MH-65 helicopter and a HC-144 plane were employed to look for Mossman.

"We want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Mossman as the decision to suspend a search is never an easy one to make and is done with great care and deliberation," said Chris Eddy, search-and-rescue technical specialist at the Coast Guard 7th District. "Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and an exhaustive search, our crews were unable to locate him."

Storm fear, norovirus outbreak hit Anthem of the Seas

Experts said the 100-foot fall likely would have stunned or killed Mossman; if he survived the drop, his chances of remaining alive in the 65-degree water for more than a few hours were slim.

Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the search.

The company has had other struggles recently. Its Anthem of the Seas ship was battered by a major Atlantic storm a month ago, forcing the captain to confine passengers to their cabins overnight in the face of “extreme wind and sea conditions."  Last week, the Anthem was hit by a norovirus outbreak.

The Navigator of the Seas holds a maximum of more than 3,800 passengers and more than 1,200 crew members. Its website boasts that was the first ship to debut "virtual balconies" that provide the "sights and sounds of the sea with expansive real-time views of the ocean and our exciting destinations ... from the comforts of your interior stateroom."

Contributing: John Bacon