Coast Guard Suspends Search For Overboard Majesty Of The Seas Crew Member

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Coast Guard has suspended their search for a missing crewmember from the Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas cruise ship. Officials say the search ended at approximately 7:20 a.m. Friday.

The Coast Guard started searching for the 26-year-old crewmember Thursday morning 37 miles east of Hillsboro Inlet after it received a call around 2:40 a.m. Thursday from the crew of the ship stating the crewmember went overboard.

"We've been in contact with the crewmember's family throughout our search efforts and know this is a very difficult and painful time for them," said Cmdr. Jason Aleksak, Sector Miami chief of response. "Suspending a search is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make as first responders, and it is never made lightly."

The cruise ship was on a five-day trip to Coco Cay and Nassau and arrived in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Thursday morning.

Crews searched for approximately 24 hours covering 1,388 square miles.